UAlbany Volleyball Set to Play #3 Stanford in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Albany, N.Y. - University at Albany will travel to Stanford, Calif. To take on the third-ranked Cardinal in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament on Dec. 3, as announced on Sunday afternoon. The Great Danes also faced Stanford in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Top-seeded UAlbany (22-8) beat third-seeded UMBC in straight games, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20 in the America East Conference Championship on Nov. 20. The Great Danes ran their win streak to seven contests and claimed their fifth America East title in seven years. UAlbany is led by senior Teresa Coppiellie, who was named the 2010 America East Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Coppiellie averages 3.44 kills per set along with 3.322 digs per set. Laurie Gonzalez claimed her third straight defensive specialist of the year honor, after leading the conference and being ranked among the national leaders, averaging 5.20 digs per set. Gonzalez recently broke UAlbany's single-season digs record after recording 572 as a junior. Junior Casey Wright, who averages 1.07 blocks and 3.28 kills per set, was also named to the all-conference first team to round out the UAlbany award recipients.

Stanford (22-8) won the Pacific 10 Championship title for the fifth straight season with a three-set win over Arizona State on Nov. 26. The Cardinal, who have made an appearance in all 30 Division I volleyball championships, is led by senior outside hitter Alix Klineman. Klineman is averaging 5.49 kills, which is the second-best average in the nation, and 2.68 digs per set. The setting duties for the Cardinal have been split between Cassidy Lichtman (8.21 aps) and Karissa Cook (6.26 aps), who have led the team to the top assists average in the country at 14.41 per set. As a team, Stanford leads the nation with a .320 hitting percentage.

The winner of the UAlbany-Stanford match-up will advance to face either Cal State-Fullerton (26-5) or #14 Colorado State (25-4) in the second round of regional play. UAlbany played Colorado State earlier this season at the Campus USA Credit Union Invite hosted by Florida, and fell to the Rams, 3-0. Colorado State claimed its eighth Mountain West Conference regular season title this season.

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2010 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship

First Round Regional, at Stanford, Calif.

#3 Stanford (24-3) vs. UAlbany (22-8)

#14 Colorado State (25-4) vs. Cal State-Fullerton (26-5)


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information