Retrieving respect: UMBC women's volleyball didn't abandon principles in first-round loss to pitt in NCAA women's vollyeball tournament

The UMBC women's volleyball team celebrates a point agianst Pitt during the first set of the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament Friday night at Petersen Events Center. Josh Rizzo/Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges

"There's some things that we do, some activities, some principles, some values, all these things it got you here. It would be a shame if you kinda let go of those things just because the arena got a little bigger, the lights got a little brighter, the DJ got a little more wild or whatever."
- UMBC women's volleyball coach Kasey Crider

PITTSBURGH - The reality is that many things in college sports will be considerably different five years from now than they are today. But UMBC women's volleyball coach Kasey Crider provided a reminder of why it is important to keep the little schools involved in the postseason picture.

Crider -- along with players Hannah Dobbs and Hannah Howard -- shook the hands of everyone in the room following their press conference after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 1 seed Pitt at Petersen Events Center. The Retrievers -- who finished 13-12 and qualified by winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in six years -- were thrilled to be involved.

"I'm just so impressed with this place and what volleyball has become here," Crider said. "It's not just what (Pitt head coach) Dan (Fisher) and Kellen (Petrone) and the staff and program has done. It's how the city has embraced the sport and is taking it very seriously. This event is the perfect example of that."

The battle surrounding the College Football Playoff has highlighted the unhappiness with some of the larger schools about having automatic qualifiers. While football is different -- there are only 12 teams selected and the format is new -- the battle of mid-major schools roles in the playoffs has also come under attack in basketball. There is some thought that some of the larger conferences -- like the Big 10 and SEC -- may eventually choose to break away from the NCAA entirely.

That decision could lock out a program like UMBC. The Retrievers men's basketball program shocked the sports world in 2018 when they became the first No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed when they knocked off Virginia. For athletes who goes to smaller schools, who doesn't like trying to slay Goliath.

UMBC had a formidable opponent to try and knock off its feet in the first round. The Panthers have advanced past the first round the previous 10 seasons. Pitt hasn't dropped a set in their first NCAA match since 2017, when it beat VCU 3-1 at Penn State.

The Panthers' monster offensive machine is led by Olivia Babcock, who was chosen as the top layer in college volleyball last season and is a contender to win the award again this season. Babcock finished with 13 kills against the Retrievers and has 558 on the season, which is a program record.

"I feel like when we went in there, we weren't scared," Howard said. "We have our practice players who are boys and swinging at us all week like as hard as they could. I really think that helped us to stay strong back there. We didn't want to be scared. She's the best arm we played against. I think we had a lot of practice helped us stay strong back there."

Crider didn't come to Pittsburgh with a steadfast belief that UMBC would spring an upset. He wanted the Retrievers to stick to their principles and attempt to make the Panthers work to move on to the next round.

UMBC wanted to represent itself well on the big stage. The Retrievers did it their way.

"One of the core principles of what we do is 'Hey, we're going to deal in reality.'," Crider said. "We can't deal in too much fluffy stuff and try to to fake it. We know that they are favored for a reason. So, we acknowledge that. I don't think that you have to dwell on it.  There's some things that we do, some activities, some principles, some values, all these things it got you here. It would be a shame if you kinda let go of those things just because the arena got a little bigger, the lights got a little brighter, the DJ got a little more wild or whatever."
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted on X @JoshRizzo or via email at [email protected].