By Chirstian Hince | November 10, 2021
With a three-set victory over Stony Brook Friday, the Great Danes are heading to the America East postseason tournament. The win brought the team to 12-13 overall and 7-3 in the conference. The Danes knocked down the hosting Seawolves (who had already clinched a berth in the tournament) to 12-12 overall and 6-4 in the conference.
“We always have a great match with Stony Brook,” said Head Coach Josh Pickard. “Going into their gym and getting a win is a nice accomplishment.”
In the first set, a Lilou Stegemen kill led the Danes to an early 6-2 advantage. The Seawolves brought the deficit within one with four straight points before tying it at eleven, but this momentum was temporary. UAlbany used two runs of four and eight consecutive points to a commanding 23-13 lead and sealed the deal shortly at 25-16.
In the second, the Danes jumped out early again leading 5-2, but Stony Brook charged back with four straight. Yet again, though, the Seawolves couldn’t stay in front and soon found themselves trailing 11-7. While Stony Brook shortened their deficit to one several times throughout the rest of the match and tied it at 17, it was UAlbany who took a 25-22 victory.
The Seawolves opened the third with a 3-1 advantage overridden by a Great Dane surge to give UAlbany a 7-4 lead. Leading by no less than three the rest of the way, the team clinched their tournament spot when Lilou Stegemen ended the match how she opened it, with a kill that ended the night with a 25-18 win.
Danielle Tedesco topped the stat sheet with eight kills, a .667 hitting percentage, and three blocks, and close behind was Oren Abutbul with eight kills and two blocks.
Starting in her first game, Delaney Foster followed Abutbul and Tedesco with seven kills and a .467 hitting percentage. “Delaney had an excellent match and I’m proud of how she stepped up,” said Pickard.
Charlotte Macken was the leader in digs with nine, and Malea Stanton was the leading setter with 27 assists and tallied two blocks and eight digs. The Great Danes accumulated nine service aces, which were courtesy of Ellie Benedict (4), Anna Chalupa (3), and Regan Wright (2).
While UAlbany’s conference tournament bid is cause for celebration, their regular season tasks are not yet finished. A tough one will come on Sunday, when the Danes rematch UMBC, the undefeated conference leaders (10-0).
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