BALTIMORE ­– Abby Hamilton had her third-straight match with 17 or more kills, earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors, as Loyola University Maryland beat UMBC, 25-20-26-28, 25-17, 25-22, to win the 2019 Charm City Challenge presented by Residence Inn by Marriott Owings Mills.
 
Hamilton had 17 kills against the Retrievers, giving her 55 in during the tournament's three matches for an average of 5.0 per set. She hit .266 overall from the outside and also averaged 2.64 digs per set.
 
She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by a pair of Greyhounds (5-5 overall), Ashley Dwyer and Katie Forsythe. Dwyer had a career-high 52 assists versus UMBC and averaged 12.82 per set this weekend while also posting 2.55 digs per set and six aces. Forsythe continued to lead the Loyola defense, posting 63 digs in the three matches, an average of 5.73 per set.
 
On Saturday against UMBC (3-6), Mackenzie Fedota hit .500 from the middle and was one off her career-high with 13 kills against only one error. Cat Vaccaro and Ann Ernst each had nine kills, and Corinne Filograna posted a career-best 12 digs.
 
UMBC led throughout the early going in the first set, going up 15-12 on a Anouk Van Noord kill, but Molly Jarvis and Ernst had a block out of the media timeout to sideout for the Greyhounds, and Loyola scored twice more to tie the set a 15-15.
 
Carmen Freeman, who was named to the All-Tournament Team for UMBC, had a kill to momentarily push the Retrievers back in front, but Ernst came back with a kill to tie the set at 16-16. The Greyhounds scored three of the next four points to go up 19-17 on a Dwyer kill that forced a UMBC timeout.
 
After Kamani Conteh sided out for the Retrievers, Fedota had kills on three of the next four points, her final making it 23-18 Loyola. Hamiton had the final of her six kills in the first to end the stanza.
 
Loyola looked to make quick work of the second set, leading 21-14  on a Jarvis kill, but UMBC rattled off nine points in a row to lead 23-21 on a Loyola attack error.
 
Jarvis had Hamilton ahd back-to-back kills to get Loyola level at 23-23, and the Greyhounds fought off set-point attempts by UMBC with kills by Jarvis and Fedota. A UMBC attack error then gave Loyola set-point at 26-25, but the Retrievers pushed three-straight points onto the board to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Greyhounds built a 17-10 advantage on a Vaccaro kill in the third, but this time they did not slide backward, winning the set 25-17. Vaccaro connected for kills on all four of her swings in the set.
 
In the fourth, Loyola went up 18-10 on a Jarvis kill, but UMBC scored five in a row to get within three. A Retrievers service error, however, gave the Greyhounds a sideout point, and Fedota bookended a kill by UMBC to make it 21-16.
 
Later in the frame, the Retrievers cut Loyola's lead to two, 24-22, but a Conteh cross-court attack went wide, and Loyola earned the match win. Fedota had six of her kills in the final set.

The Greyhounds will be back in action in Reitz Arena on Tuesday, September 17, when they host Coppin State University at 7 o'clock.