University of Albany Volleyball Completes Second Straight Undefeated Conference Season With Sweep of Hartford - UAlbany Sports 2009

Albany, N.Y. - Teresa Coppiellie recorded 12 kills with a .611 hitting percentage to lead UAlbany to a 3-0 sweep of Hartford in the America East Conference regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at University Gymnasium. With the win over the Hawks, the Great Danes complete their second straight undefeated conference season. UAlbany has not lost an America East match since 2007. The Great Danes, who honored seniors Hillary White, Valerie Sourbeer and Laura Livergood prior to the match, won in straight sets with scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-18.

UAlbany rolled in the first set, building up an early 7-2 lead on a kill by Coppiellie. Hartford's Lindsay Ford responded with a kill of her own, followed by a kill by Erin Macro to pull the Hawks within 7-4. A Hartford service error put the ball back in UAlbany's service, and the Great Danes went on to build up a quick 15-7 advantage on a kill by Sourbeer. The teams exchanged errors, before a block by Casey Wright and Kalyn Mostert put UAlbany up, 18-10, and gave the serve to Laurie Gonzalez, who served for three straight points. Coppiellie recorded a solo block and assisted on another block with White in that stretch. Coppiellie took an assist from Brooke Stanley on set point to seal the win for the Great Danes.

The second set went back and forth in the early going, with four ties before UAlbany got ahead, 8-4 with a Stanley kill. Hartford tied the match again at 11-11 on a kill by Macro, and the score was tied six more times before White served for three points to give the Great Danes a 20-17 advantage. Hartford pulled back within 21-20 on a UAlbany attack error, but a kill by Mostert gave the serve to Livergood, who was able to serve for the final three points, getting a kill from Wright to end the set.

UAlbany jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the final set, getting two blocks from Mostert and Wright early in play. The Great Danes got kills from Sourbeer and Coppiellie to continue to build a lead, but Hartford rallied back to 12-10 on a kill by Macro, who led the Hawks with nine kills in the match. Sarah Boss recorded a kill to tie the set at 13-13 and the teams exchanged kills until back-to-back Sourbeer kills put UAlbany up, 20-17. Livergood served for the final three points in the final set, capitalizing on a Coppiellie kill and two Hartford errors to complete the sweep.

Hartford (7-21, AE 0-10) was led defensively by Danielle Etta with 10 digs and Ford, who recorded 20 assists. The Hawks hit .047 as a team, recording just one block in the match. Maddison Molyneux finished with three service aces for the Hawks.

Sourbeer totaled nine kills for the Great Danes, while Stanley recorded 34 assists and nine digs. Gonzalez led the team with 16 digs, while Mostert finished with five total blocks. The Great Danes hit .353 as a team, producing seven total team blocks.

UAlbany (20-8, AE 10-0) will host the America East Conference Tournament next weekend as the top seed. Game times are set for 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 with the championship match scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. The remaining three teams will be determined as the conference's regular season wraps up on Sunday, Nov. 15.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information