UMBC Falling to No. 20 Pepperdine in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament!
America East Champion UMBC travelled to Omaha, Nebraska to face No.20 Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
The UMBC Volleyball team finished the best season in the program’s history in the first round of the NCAA tournament falling to No.20 Pepperdine with set scores of 25-7, 25-22, and a very hard-fought third set by a score of 26-24.
The first-year international middle blockers from Italy and Turkey led UMBC offensively too in this match. Michela De Marzi recorded 8 kills in 21 attacks and Beste Ayhan recorded 6 kills in 10 attacks. Darina Kumanova, the AEC’s Rookie of the Year and the championship’s Most Outstanding Player had 6 kills in 24 attacks and 10 digs.
UMBC Volleyball coach Cristina Robertson has been selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association East Coast Region Coach of the Year. Robertson guided the Retrievers to their first ever America East Championship and first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998.
For Pepperdine, this win was the first NCAA Tournament win since the 2018 campaign when Pepperdine defeated Northern Iowa 3-1 in the opening round and also the first time the Waves swept an opponent in the tournament since the 2011 campaign.