Christian Hince | November 15, 2021
In their last regular season game, UAlbany finished the visiting Bearcats in three sets. The Danes will head into the America East tournament with a record of 13-14 overall and 8-4 in conference, while Binghamton finishes their season 7-16 overall and 3-8 in league.
In the first, UAlbany shot out in front 3-0, only to see the Bearcats score six straight. The Danes fought back to tie it at nine for Binghamton to fire out to 13-9, which the home team tied again in response. While another Bearcat run put them up 16-13, seven straight from UAlbany gave them critical late set leverage. Binghamton tied it at 23 near the end, but the Danes tacked on the two points needed to end this first set tug of war, 25-23.
The second wasn’t nearly as competitive, with UAlbany drawing an early 6-2 advantage out to an insurmountable 13-3 one with a dominant turn. Leading by no less than eight from this point on, the Great Danes continued building their advantage into what became a resounding 25-11 victory.
The Bearcats stormed in front 4-0 in the third, however UAlbany fought back to tie the round at nine, soon gaining and keeping a light lead for some time. Binghamton fought back to tie it at 17 and even take the lead near the end 20-19, but the Danes claimed their senior night win with six of the last seven points, 25-21.
The win reflected prowess from seniors and non-seniors alike. Freshman Oren Abutbul led the offense with 13 kills and a 0.423 hitting percentage, followed by senior Grace Kozad and graduate student Danielle Tedesco with eight kills each. Tedesco also collected the most team-blocks with seven.
Senior Charlotte Macken earned the most digs at 26, followed by junior Malea Stanton and freshman Elaina Wamhoff with 18 assists each. As a team, the Great Danes outhit Binghamton 0.256 to 0.084.
Coach Josh Pickard proudly commended the efforts of all seven team seniors Friday night. They have been a part of continuing our success and are great people on and off the court,” he said. “I’m excited to see what lies ahead for each of them.”
With the week off to rest, the Great Danes will face their most important challenge yet with the conference tournament semifinals Saturday.