Albany, N.Y. - Valerie Sourbeer recorded a match-high 12 kills, while UAlbany recorded a .324 hitting percentage and 10 team blocks, as the Great Danes recorded a 3-0 win over UMBC in America East Conference volleyball action on Sunday afternoon at University Gymnasium. UAlbany won in straight sets with scores of 25-12, 25-19 and 25-11.

            The Great Danes came out firing in the first set, hitting .516 as a team, getting 16 kills without committing an error. Back-to-back kills by Teresa Coppiellie put UAlbany ahead, 7-2, and forced UMBC to take an early timeout. UAlbany's offense continued to fire on all cylinders, as the Great Danes built up an 18-7 lead on a Retriever service error. After a kill from Naomi Bush pulled UMBC within 10, UAlbany rattled off three consecutive points with a solo block by Casey Wright (Ballston Spa) and strong serving by Laurie Gonzalez. Hillary White smashed home a kill to give the Great Danes set point at 24-12, before the Retrievers, who hit .029 in the set, ended with an attack error to give UAlbany the win.

            UMBC opened the second set strong, building up a 5-2 lead in the early going. A ball handling error put the serve back in Gonzalez's hands for UAlbany, and the Great Danes tied the set at 5-5 with a block assist by White and Kalyn Mostert. The Retrievers took the next point to get ahead by one, but White and Mostert combined for another block to swing the momentum back to UAlbany. The Great Danes took a 7-6 lead on a bad set by UMBC, and never looked back, building up to a 16-12 advantage on a Wright kill. UAlbany took advantage of poor hitting by the Retrievers, as attack and service errors combined to build the Great Dane lead to 20-15. After a service ace by UMBC's Alexandra Spaay pulled the Retrievers within 21-18, UAlbany took a quick timeout to regroup, and came out to rally towards set point, getting kills from Sourbeer and Wright, who smashed the winner on an assist from Brooke Stanley.

            The third set was all UAlbany from the first serve, as UMBC had two attack errors to start the set. After Wright recorded a kill to put the Great Danes up, 3-1, she put up back-to-back solo blocks on Retriever attacks to give UAlbany a 5-1 lead. The Great Danes continued to roll, as a Coppiellie kill gave her serve, and UAlbany built up a 13-4 advantage. UMBC attempted to rally, getting a kill from Ali Loynachan and a block by Alyssa Lang to pull within 13-7. Mostert combined with Wright and White for blocks to induce attack errors from the Retrievers, holding UMBC to a -.140 hitting percentage in the set. After a kill by Coppiellie gave UAlbany a 21-11 lead, UMBC hit four straight attack errors, with a solo block from White ending the match.

            Coppiellie and Wright each recorded nine kills for UAlbany, while Wright finished with a .533 hitting percentage and five total blocks, including three solo. Coppiellie was close to a double-double, finishing with 11 digs, while Gonzalez led all players with 17 digs. Stanley recorded with 36 assists and eight digs, while Mostert and White both finished with five total blocks.

            Ashley Oscars led UMBC (11-18, AE 3-1) with six kills and 13 digs, while setter Kira Giles finished with a double-double, recording 12 assists and 10 digs. Pam Jarrett added 12 digs for the Retrievers.

            UAlbany (14-8, AE 4-0) remains the only undefeated team in league play. The Great Danes will return to action on Friday, Oct. 23, hosting America East foe Binghamton at 7 p.m.

-agate-

UAlbany (14-8, AE 4-0) def. UMBC (11-8, AE 3-1), 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-11)