Clemson, S.C. - UAlbany wins 3-1 over Tennessee Tech in the 2010 season opener at Clemson's Big Orange Bash. The Great Danes posted scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-27 and 25-15.
After playing a close-matched start of the first set, UAlbany pulled away to a 12-9 lead on a Tennessee Tech attack error. The Great Danes continued to build a lead with back-to-back kills by Brooke Stanley, followed by a service ace by the senior setter to pull ahead, 15-10. Tennessee Tech fought back to pull within 16-15 after a kill by Elise Robertson and a UAlbany attack error. A kill by Traci Vandegrift and a block by Casey Wright and Gabby Whitworth swung the momentum back in the Great Danes' favor. Consecutive kills by Teresa Coppiellie put UAlbany on top, 20-16, but Tennessee Tech battled back to pull within a point. The Great Danes got kills from Wright and Coppielle before taking advantage of a Golden Eagle attack error and a Wright service ace to end the set.
UAlbany jumped out to an early lead in the second set as well, getting up, 5-3, on a kill by Dunja Prgomet before Tennessee Tech tied the set at 5-5 with a kill and service ace from Natalie Penrod. The Great Danes would not relinquish their lead, however, getting ahead 10-6 on kills by Coppielle and Wright, forcing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout. UAlbany started to cruise, pulling ahead, 17-10, on three straight kills. However, Tennessee Tech would not fade, and fought back to tie the set at 19-19 before taking its first lead of the set on a UAlbany attack error. The Great Danes got to set point on a kill by Vandegrift, but the Golden Eagles took advantage of a blocking and attacking error to keep the match alive. Vandegrift would again set up set point for UAlbany, and a ball handling error by Tennessee Tech gave the Great Danes a 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams played a back-and-forth third set, with neither team getting ahead by more than three points at a time. UAlbany was ahead, 17-14, before Tennessee Tech rallied to tie the match at 18-18 on a Penrod kill. The Great Danes were able to get up by four points at 22-18 on a Golden Eagle attack error, but Tennessee Tech would once again battle back to tie the set. UAlbany used a Tennessee Tech service error, followed by a kill by Prgomet to get to match point, but back-to-back kills by Penrod and Leah Meffert tied the set up once more. The teams exchanged points before Tennessee Tech got its first set point of the match, and a Meffert kill sealed the set win for the Golden Eagles.
UAlbany rolled to the fourth set win, building up a 13-5 lead on a service ace by Abbey Wexel. The Great Danes would score four straight points, including back-to-back kills by Wright, to take a 19-9 advantage and force Tennessee Tech to take a timeout. The Golden Eagles regrouped to score two points, but UAlbany continued to cruise, getting a kill from Prgomet before she teamed up with Vandegrift for a block to put the Great Danes ahead, 21-11. The teams exchanged points, and Coppiellie gave UAlbany match point with a kill. Robertson tried to keep the Golden Eagles in the game with a kill, but Wright finished off the match on the next volley.
Wright led all players with 21 kills, and added six total blocks with a .531 hitting percentage. Coppiellie added 13 kills, while Prgomet and Vandegrift also posted double-digit numbers with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Stanley finished with 27 assists, five kills and eight digs, while Laurie Gonzalez paced the team defensively with 19 digs. Meffert led Tennessee Tech (0-1) with 16 kills and 14 digs, while Penrod added 12 kills. Setter Melanie Culp also recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs, and Robertson led all players with 15 digs.
UAlbany (1-0) will return to action on Saturday with a match against Jacksonville at 10 a.m. before closing out the tournament against host Clemson at 6 p.m.
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