University of Albany Sweeps Stony Brook in America East Conference Volleyball Action - UAlbany Sports 2011

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Casey Wright recorded 16 kills on .652 hitting to lead UAlbany to a 3-0 sweep of Stony Brook in America East Conference volleyball action on Friday evening at Pritchard Gymnasium. The Great Danes defeated the Seawolves with set scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-11.

In the first set, Stony Brook jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, taking advantage of three UAlbany errors and getting three kills by Alicia Nelson. A bad set by the Seawolves gave service back to the Great Danes, where Dunja Prgomet recorded a service ace, followed by consecutive kills by Casey Wright, pulling UAlbany within 9-7. The Great Danes tied the set at 12-12 on back-to-back Stony Brook errors, and the two teams tied the set up four more times before UAlbany took control. Wright took an assist from Brooke Stanley to give the Great Danes a 17-16 advantage, before Gabby Whitworth recorded two kills to put UAlbany up, 19-16, and force Stony Brook to take a timeout. Another kill by Prgomet gave Stanley the service game, where she served for three straight points to build a 23-17 lead. The Great Danes got to set point on another Prgomet kill, but Nelson responded with a kill of her own to extend the set. Traci Vandegrift ended the set in the Great Danes' favor.

The teams played a close second set, with nine ties in the early going before UAlbany took a decisive lead. A ball handling error by the Seawolves put the Great Danes up, 11-10, and Samantha Brostrom served for two points to give UAlbany a three-point advantage. The Great Danes continued to build their advantage, getting ahead, 17-13, on a Wright kill. Stony Brook began to rally back, getting kills by Nelson and Evann Slaughter, followed by a UAlbany attack error that pulled the Seawolves to within 20-19. The teams exchanged kills before UAlbany got to set point after consecutive kills by Wright. Stanley set up the final attack attempt for Brostrom, who ended the set with a kill.

The Great Danes took their momentum into the third set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead on a kill by Wright. Vandegrift took over the service game for UAlbany, and served for seven straight points, including two aces, building up a 15-3 advantage. Nelson ended the rally for Stony Brook, and the Seawolves followed with a kill by Taylor Gillie, but a service error shut down the comeback. UAlbany continued to roll, building up a 20-9 lead on a solo block by Brostrom, which was followed by another Stony Brook attack error, giving the Great Danes a 12-point lead. Nelson tried to start a rally for the Seawolves, but Vandegrift and Wright followed with consecutive kills to give UAlbany set point. Abbey Wexel served up the Great Danes' fourth ace of the match to complete the three-set sweep.

Stanley finished with 41 assists and seven digs, while Laurie Gonzalez totaled 15 digs for the Great Danes. Brostrom and Vandegrift each finished with eight kills, while Progomet totaled seven kills and six digs. UAlbany hit .333 as a team, while holding Stony Brook to a .167 hitting percentage.

Nelson led Stony Brook (7-8, AE 1-1) with a match-high 18 kills and a .350 hitting percentage. Slaughter totaled six kills and five total blocks, leading the Seawolves to six team blocks. Laura Hathaway finished with 13 digs, while Kelsey Sullivan recorded 21 assists, four digs and two block assists.

UAlbany (8-7, AE 2-0) will return to action on Sunday, visiting UMBC in America East Conference play.


Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics