University of Albany Volleyball Beats Santa Clara 3-1 To Start Penn Tournament - UAlbany Sports 2009

Philadelphia, Pa. - Valerie Sourbeer recorded a match-high 17 kills, putting up a .417 hitting percentage, leading UAlbany to a 3-1 win over Santa Clara in non-conference volleyball action at the Holiday Inn HD Tournament on Friday afternoon at The Palestra. The Great Danes posted scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-16 and 25-20.

UAlbany came out firing in the first set, building up a 17-9 lead with four straight points behind the service game of Laura Livergood. Kalyn Mostert and Casey Wright combined for two blocks in that rally to lead the Great Danes. After Santa Clara's Emily Burke recorded a service ace to pull the Broncos within 20-16, UAlbany regained serve on a handling error. Brooke Stanley served for the final four points of the set, getting three consecutive kills from Teresa Coppiellie, Sourbeer and Mostert before Mostert and Wright put up their third block assist to end the set.

Santa Clara rebounded in set two after falling behind 5-1 to start the set. The Broncos tied the score at 7-7 with a kill by Dana Knudsen. UAlbany regained control with three straight points, eventually getting up 15-10 on a Santa Clara attack error. Wright and Stanley combined for a block to give the Great Danes a 19-16 advantage before the Broncos came roaring back, getting two block assists from Lindsy Davigeadono and Tanya Schmidt to take a 21-20 lead. UAlbany tied the set on a kill by Wright, but Santa Clara got three consecutive kills to get to set point. Hillary White smacked a kill to keep the action going, but Davigeadono sealed the win for the Broncos with a kill.

The Great Danes regrouped at the break and blasted out to a 7-3 lead with Livergood's service. White recorded three straight kills to put UAlbany up, 10-3, and the Great Danes continued to build their advantage with rallies. After a Schmidt service ace pulled Santa Clara within 19-9, Mostert took an assist from Stanley to put UAlbany back in control. A Wright kill at 23-15 gave the Great Danes set point, before Schmidt recorded a kill to keep the Broncos alive. Sourbeer smashed the winning kill home to end the set in UAlbany's favor.

The fourth set started as a back-and-forth affair, with seven ties in the early going before Santa Clara scored four straight points to build up a 15-11 lead on a Davigeadono kill. Wright and Sourbeer combined for one of UAlbany's 10 total team blocks to give the Great Danes back control. The teams exchanged points before a kill by Stanley pulled UAlbany within 18-15 and gave Coppiellie the serve. The junior outside hitter served for nine straight points, including two service aces. Knudsen took an assist from Emily Burke to get a kill and end the UAlbany rally before taking advantage of a UAlbany attack error on match point. Stanley ended the match with a kill, with the assist going to Livergood.

White completed a double-double for UAlbany with 13 kills and 10 digs while Stanley finished with a match-high 44 assists, six digs, four kills and two block assists. Mostert finished with eight kills and five total blocks, while Wright contributed six block assists and five kills. Knudsen led three Broncos in double-digit kills, finishing with a team-high 15. Katherine Douglas recorded 11 kills and 14 digs, while Davigeadono also tallied 11 kills. Setter Emily Burke finished with 36 assists and five digs for Santa Clara (8-5).

UAlbany (6-8) will return to action on Saturday, playing St. Francis (Pa.) at 3 p.m. and host Penn at 7 p.m. to conclude the tournament.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information