New Haven, Conn. - Bridget Hearst paced all players with 21 kills to lead Yale to a 3-1 win over UAlbany in non-conference volleyball action on Friday evening, the first of a home-and-home series between the two teams over the weekend. The Great Danes took the first set, 27-25, before the Bulldogs won the next three with scores of 25-22, 27-25 and 25-13 to claim the match win.

            Yale scored four straight points to take a 9-5 lead early in the first set, before UAlbany tied the set at 11-11 on a block assist by Casey Wright and Dunja Prgomet. The teams would exchange points and tie the set two more times, before the Great Danes built up a four-point advantage behind strong play by Teresa Coppiellie, who recorded a kill and a block assist in the stretch. UAlbany continued to build a lead, getting ahead, 20-17, before Yale rallied back to tie the set and take a 21-20 advantage on a kill by Kendall Polan. The set would tie up four more times before UAlbany capitalized on a set point, as Wright smashed a kill to end play.

            Yale took early control of the second set, scoring the first three points before UAlbany would get on the scoreboard. The teams exchanged points throughout the early going, with the Great Danes pulling with in 7-6 on a Bulldog error. Yale continued to roll through the set, getting up by five, 13-8, on a kill by Haley Wessels. After Yale took the biggest lead of the set at 19-13, UAlbany attempted to rally, cutting the advantage to 19-17, getting two kills by Traci Vandegrift. Yale regained control and pulled back ahead by five, 23-18, before the Great Danes scored three consecutive points to close the set back up. The Bulldogs got set point on a kill by Hearst, but Wright followed with a kill of her own to keep Yale at bay. Yale finished the set on a successful block by Hearst and McHaney Carter on a UAlbany attack.

            The two teams battled into extra points once again in the third set. The set was tied six times through the early going before UAlbany built up a 13-9 lead on a kill by Prgomet. Yale would battle back to tie the set at 15-15 on a kill by Anya Cekauskas and took control from there, building up a 19-15 advantage in a stretch that included back-to-back kills by Hearst. UAlbany would not fold, and the squads tied the match four more times, including 24-24on a kill by Yale's Erica Reetz. The Great Danes got to set point on a Vandegrift kill, but Reetz responded to regain serve. Hearst gave Yale its first set point opportunity, and Katie Cordell ended the set in the Bulldogs' favor.

            Yale rolled through the fourth and final set to claim the match win. The Bulldogs rocketed out to a 10-point lead at 13-3 on a kill by Carter. A kill by Wright would pull the Great Danes within seven, 16-9, but that would be as close as UAlbany would get. Yale took advantage of several UAlbany errors, as well as strong play from Bulldog hitters, who hit .351 for the set to cruise to the final set, and match, win.

            UAlbany was led by Vandegrift with 17 kills on a .368 hitting percentage. Wright and Prgomet recorded 12 kills apiece, while setter Kaley Jacobson finished with a double-double of 43 assists and 16 digs. Laurie Gonzalez led all players with 31 digs, while the team produced 10 total blocks.

            Reetz helped pace Yale with a double-double of 16 digs and 18 digs, while setter Polan also finished with a double-double of 45 assists and 21 digs. Cordell and Kelly Ozurovich both finished with double-digit digs, recording 12 and 24, respectively.

            UAlbany (8-5) and Yale (6-4) will return to action on Saturday, facing off at University Gym for the Great Danes' home opener at 7 p.m.

-agate-

Yale (6-4) def. UAlbany (8-5), 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 27-25, 25-13).

Yale 3, UAlbany 1 (Sep 24, 2010)

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Volleyball Box Score

Volleyball Box Score
Albany vs Yale
(Sep 24, 2010 at New Haven, Conn.)

	Albany		ATTACK				SET	SERVE		SRV	DEF	BLOCK			GEN
##	Player	SP	K	E	TA	PCT	A	SA	SE	RE	DIG	BS	BA	BE	BHE
3	Jacobson, Kaley	4	1	0	3	.333	43	0	0	0	16	0	2	1	3
4	Coppiellie, Teresa	4	5	6	40	-.025	2	0	1	0	5	0	2	0	0
10	Wright, Casey	4	12	2	36	.278	0	0	1	0	2	0	6	0	0
12	Vandegrift, Traci	4	17	3	38	.368	0	1	0	0	7	0	4	0	0
15	Prgomet, Dunja	4	12	2	30	.333	0	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	0
18	Whitworth, Gabby	4	3	1	12	.167	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	1	0
1	McCloskey, Lindsey	1	1	2	6	-.167	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0
7	Wexel, Abbey	4	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0	1	9	0	0	0	0
9	Gonzalez, Laurie	4	0	0	4	.000	0	0	0	0	31	0	0	0	0
	Totals	4	51	16	169	.207	45	1	2	1	80	1	18	2	3
							TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.0

TEAM ATTACK BY SET  Set  K  E  TA  Pct  1  18  3  34  .441  2  12  4  40  .200  3  13  3  59  .169  4  8  6  36  .056

SET SCORES  1  2  3  4     TEAM RECORDS  Albany   (1)  27  22  25  13     8-5   Yale   (3)  25  25  27  25     6-4

	Yale		ATTACK				SET	SERVE		SRV	DEF	BLOCK			GEN
##	Player	SP	K	E	TA	PCT	A	SA	SE	RE	DIG	BS	BA	BE	BHE
4	Wessels, Haley	4	9	1	20	.400	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	2	0
6	Reetz, Erica	4	16	9	43	.163	2	0	1	0	18	0	0	0	1
7	Hearst, Bridget	4	21	6	45	.333	6	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1
11	Cramm, Taylor	1	3	1	11	.182	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Cordell, Katie	4	9	1	23	.348	0	1	1	1	12	1	1	0	0
14	Polan, Kendall	4	9	2	23	.304	45	0	1	0	21	0	2	1	0
3	Carter, McHaney	3	5	2	18	.167	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
5	Ozurovich, Kelly	4	0	0	0	.000	3	0	0	0	24	0	1	0	0
10	Cekauskas, Anya	3	3	2	12	.083	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
16	Finke, Gina	2	0	0	0	.000	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
19	Clavadetscher, Kerry	4	0	0	0	.000	14	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	1
	Totals	4	75	24	195	.262	70	1	4	1	91	1	9	3	3
							TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.5

TEAM ATTACK BY SET  Set  K  E  TA  Pct  1  17  7  45  .222  2  17  6  47  .234  3  24  7  66  .258  4  17  4  37  .351		Site: New Haven, Conn. (John J. Lee Amphethe) Date: Sep 24, 2010 Attend: 226 Time: 2:15 Referees: Tyrone Fuertes, Zach Droesch