University of Albany Confirms Top Dog Position in America East Volleyball Action With Win over Binghamton - UAlbany Sports 2009

Valerie Sourbeer led five players in double-digit kills, tying a career-high with 18, in leading UAlbany to a 3-2 win over Binghamton in America East Conference volleyball action on Friday evening at University Gymnasium. The Great Danes won with scores of 25-12, 29-27, 18-25, 21-25 and 15-11. UAlbany improved to 15-8 overall, and remain the only undefeated team in the league with a 5-0 America East ledger.

The Great Danes came out firing in the first set, hitting a remarkable .773, finishing with 17 kills and no errors, while holding Binghamton to a .100 hitting percentage. Sourbeer finished with six kills in the set, while setter Brooke Stanley and middle blocker Hillary White combined for two block assists on Bearcat attacks.

Binghamton played a tougher second set, rebounding from an eight-kill first set to record 20 kills and a .409 hitting percentage in the second. Junior outside hitter Michelle McDonough led the Bearcat offense with seven kills, including two late in the set that kept play alive. After building up a 19-13 lead, UAlbany allowed Binghamton to rally back behind the service game of setter Lindsey Mueller, tying the match at 21-21 on a UAlbany attack error. The match volleyed back and forth from that point, with neither team closing out on match point five times. The Great Danes went ahead 28-27 on a kill by Casey Wright (Ballston Spa), before she combined with Kalyn Mostert for a block to seal the set win.

Binghamton took advantage of poor hitting by UAlbany in the third set. The Great Danes had 13 kills to Binghamton's 12, but committed eight attack errors to give the Bearcats the advantage. Anna Lejina and Mueller continued their strong serving, as Lejina served for four straight points, with McDonough getting two kills in that rally to put Binghamton up, 20-13. The Great Danes attempted a comeback, getting a kill from Sourbeer sandwiched with kills by White, but UAlbany could not pull together the rally. A block by Mueller and Dawn Lammert was followed by a service ace by McDonough to give the Bearcats the third set victory.

UAlbany was looking to put the match away in the fourth set, but the Great Dane offense managed only 10 kills and a .143 hitting percentage, while Binghamton smashed 18 kills in the set. Lejina, McDonough and Lammert all recorded four kills in the set, while the Great Danes struggled to find a rhythm. UAlbany was able to tie the set on three occasions, but Binghamton continued to roll, with service aces coming from Brianna Strong and Alex Roland. UAlbany took a time out on Binghamton set point, and Lejina served an ace into the Great Danes' back line to end the set in the Bearcats' favor.

UAlbany, playing in its first five-set conference match since 2007, fell behind in the deciding frame, 4-1, before Teresa Coppiellie slammed a kill to put the ball into the Great Danes' hands. A Bearcat attack error tied the set at 5-5, and the score would bounce back and forth from there, with the final tie coming at 9-9 on a Sourbeer kill. Stanley took over the UAlbany service game, going for four straight points, getting consecutive kills from Sourbeer and a solo block from Wright to give the Great Danes a 13-9 advantage. Stanley set up a ball for Mostert at 13-11 to give the Great Danes match point, and Wright and Mostert combined for UAlbany's 10th block of the match to give the Great Danes the victory.

White finished with 14 kills for UAlbany, while Wright added 13 and Coppiellie and Mostert each recorded 10. Stanley recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 55 assists and a career-high 22 digs in the match. Coppiellie also finished with a double-double, notching 16 digs, while libero Laurie Gonzalez led the Great Danes defensively with 30 digs.

McDonough finished with a team-high 18 digs for Binghamton (11-10, AE 3-2), while Lammert and Lejina recorded 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Strong finished with a match-high 31 digs, while Mueller recorded 53 assists, 10 digs and three total blocks.

UAlbany (15-8, AE 5-0) will return to action on Sunday, traveling to Binghamton at 5 p.m.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information