Stony Brook battled back-and-forth with UMBC in the opening set with the
Seawolves finding themselves trailing by two at 18-16 following a kill by
Headen. The Retrievers then scored four unanswered points to increase its
cushion to six. SBU bounced right back, though, with four-straight points of its
own, including two kills from senior Harmonie Calinda (Huntington, N.Y.).
However, UMBC’s offense proved to be too much as it held on for the 25-22
victory. UMBC jumped out to an early lead in the second set, moving in front 10-4 while receiving kills from four different players. The Seawolves slowly clawed their way back into the match, outscoring the Retrievers 12-6 on their way to grabbing a 16-15 lead. Four straight points by UMBC put them back on top at 19-16 and the Retrievers held on from there for the two set advantage.
Despite receiving four kills from both Gordon and Headen in the third set, SBU never held a lead as the Retrievers closed the match out, 25-19. Stony Brook did knot the score at 3-3, but UMBC rattled off three-point scoring streaks on four different occasions which kept the Seawolves at a safe distance.
Calinda and junior Jeanette Gibbs (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) led the defensive effort with ten digs each while freshman Corinne Perry (Northport, N.Y.) dished out 24 assists.
Stony Brook and UMBC will lock horns again on Sunday when the Seawolves host the Retrievers at 2:00 p.m. in Pritchard Gymnasium.
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