Albany, N.Y. ? Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey recorded a team-high 13 kills and a .370 hitting percentage along with nine digs to lead the University at Albany volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Maine in the America East Conference opener for both clubs on Friday, Oct. 3. The Great Danes posted wins of 28-26, 25-11 and 25-22 in the match.

            The Great Danes jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set and held a commanding 16-8 advantage just past the midway point. UAlbany scored four straight points on two occasions during the stretch with Hillary White and Brooke Stanley serving. However, the Black Bears stormed back. With UAlbany holding a 23-20 lead, Maine pushed the Great Danes to the brink with four straight points to take a 24-23 advantage after a service ace by Laura Goettsch. Set up by Stanley on each occasion, Cowdrey answered with two kills to give the Great Danes a 25-24 edge. A kill by Lindsay Allman followed by an attacking error by the Great Danes put Maine ahead 26-25. However, UAlbany went back ahead 27-26 courtesy of kills by Kamisha Kellam and Cowdrey. An attacking error by Maine's Allman ended the set in the Great Danes' favor, 28-26.

            UAlbany scored the first five points of the second set with Stanley serving. Maine brought the margin down to as low as three points on five occasions and found themselves trailing 10-7 just before the midway point. However, the Great Danes went on cruise control and outscored the Black Bears the rest of the way by a 15-4 margin to take the set by a count of 25-11. UAlbany finished with an impressive .609 hitting percentage in the stanza.

            Maine kept things close for most of the third set, but the Great Danes never trailed in the final frame. Leading 12-10, UAlbany went on to score five straight points with Stanley serving. The Black Bears were able to pull within two points at 23-21, but that was as close as they would come. Valerie Sourbeer scored UAlbany's final two points on kills with assists being credited to Stanley in the 25-22 set win.

            Cowdrey and Stanley each fell one dig shy of a double-double to lead the way for the Great Danes. Stanley had a match-high 30 assists to go along with nine digs and three kills. In addition to leading the squad with 13 kills and a .370 hitting percentage, Cowdrey also had a team-high two service aces. Laurie Gonzalez led the team in digs with 10, while Kalyn Mostert had one solo block and assisted on four others.

            Maine (7-8, AE 0-1) was paced by Brittany Kiehl, who finished with nine kills and a match-high .471 hitting percentage. Amy Lawson and Allman had seven kills apiece, while Jessica Wolfenden tacked on 26 assists and seven digs. 

            UAlbany (8-8, AE 1-0) continues conference play on Sunday afternoon when New Hampshire visits University Gymnasium at 1 p.m. The Wildcats were swept by UMBC in their conference opener earlier this evening.

-agate-

UAlbany (8-8, AE 1-0) def. Maine (7-8, AE 0-1), 3-0 (28-26, 25-11, 25-22)