THE BASICS:


RESULT: UMBC 3, Hartford 0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-18)
LOCATION: Hartford Volleyball Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (2-11, 0-1 America East), UMBC (9-6, 1-0)

THE LEAD:
Abby Nash led the Hartford volleyball team with nine kills, but a strong offensive effort led UMBC to a 3-0 victory over the Hawks on Friday night. It marked the conference opener for both teams.
 
Paola Rojas (14), Carmen Freeman (12) and Ashley Ramos (10) all finished with double-digit kills in the win, as the Retrievers hit .348 on the match. Kristin Watson led UMBC with 16 digs, while Krytsia Negron led all players with 41 assists.
 
Paulina Modestow and Katy Henchy each added seven kills in a losing effort for the Hawks. Nash (13) and Modestow (10) both delivered double-digit digs, while Alyse Wenzel notched four blocks.
 
SET-BY-SET
• The opening set was a furious, back-and-forth affair, with the Hawks holding the early edge thanks to success on the serve, with Jenna Bridges and Megan Anderson each delivering service aces early in the stanza to give the home squad a 12-8 lead. But UMBC slowly chipped away at the advantage, and finally was able to draw even at 23-all. Hartford was able to hold off several Retriever charges, but UMBC got the final blow, with an attack error giving the visitors a 29-27 victory.
• In the second, the two teams again came out even, with the visitors holding a slight 11-10 lead. UMBC got the first significant rally, though, delivering three-straight points for a 14-10 edge to force a Hawks timeout. Hartford slowly chipped away at the advantage, with a Modestow kill cutting it to 22-20, but UMBC notched three of the last four points to earn a 25-21 victory.
• The sides traded blows early in the third, with the Hawks knotting things up at 9-9 following an Astrid Mangual Duran kill. UMBC went on a rally, though, building a 14-10 lead, before the Hawks cut it to two at 14-12 following a Bridges service ace. But the Retrievers delivered the decisive run in the match, rolling off six straight to build a 20-12 lead en route to the victory.

UP NEXT:
The Hawks will step out of conference play for a Sunday afternoon match against Coppin State at 2 p.m. Admission is free for all spectators at the Hartford Volleyball Gym.