The volleyball teams at Towson and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County are both coming off weeks in which they had a first-hand taste of what it is like to compete against the best of the best.
UMBC?s experience came first, when the Retrievers traveled to the West Coast to face the defending national champion Washington Huskies. Towson followed Tuesday when it had the opportunity to host third-ranked UCLA as the Bruins prepared for a tournament this weekend in College Park.
As expected, both local teams suffered sweeps against their more talented opponents. UMBC lost its game to Washington, 30-13, 30-19, 30-21. Towson fared slightly better with the home-court advantage before dropping its game to UCLA, 32-30, 30-23, 30-25.
Despite coming out on the losing end, both UMBC coach Ian Blanchard and Towson coach Paul Koncir came away from the matches feeling they will help their programs in the long run. Blanchard said having his players face Washington, a team that runs many of the same sets as his squad, allowed him to show his team how important it is to buy into his coaching philosophies.
“Players out West may be more physical than the players at schools like UMBC, but there is no reason we can?t be just as skilled,” Blanchard said. “There will be many times that you may not be the most physical team, but if you are more skilled, you have a better chance of beating that team.”
Another benefit West Coast college volleyball teams have is the plethora of talented players in that part of the country capable of competing on an elite level. This leaves mid-major schools like Towson and UMBC to compete for those western players not recruited by the big-time programs while trying to keep the top local players in-state.
Even that has become more difficult in recent years, as a select few Maryland players are now being recruited by the top schools, including Kansas State?s Tiffany Johnson (Arundel) and UCLA?s Nana Meriweather, a Potomac native who played a big role in the Bruins? win over the Tigers.
UMBC outside hitter Ashley Oscars has a dual perspective on the state of volleyball on the East Coast compared to the West Coast. The 5-foot-9 freshman is a native of Bakersfield, Calif.
“The biggest difference is everyone?s bigger [out west],” Oscars said. “Watching a higher-quality team like Washington do the same things we do really helped us learn a lot.”
Koncir said getting UCLA to play at Towson, even if it was luck, showed the program is continuing to move in the right direction. It should also help with local recruiting. The high school volleyball teams from local powers like Centennial and Dulaney were among the 817 fans in attendance to watch as the Tigers nearly captured the first game against the Bruins.
“We?re starting to get some of the better players here,” said Koncir, who is in his first year at Towson.
One of those players is fifth-year senior middle hitter Christina Grempler. The Severna Park graduate said having UCLA come to Towson will help the Tigers prepare for the Colonial Athletic Association season with the ultimate goal of getting to, and winning in, the NCAA Tournament.
“By playing UCLA, we showed everyone we can play with one of the best teams in the country,” Grempler said. “I think it showed that if we get to the NCAA Tournament, we?re not going to be a team that will just go down easy in the first round.”
Ron Snyder is a staff writer with The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
