Three UAlbany Players Earn 16+ Kills in Five-Set Home Victory vs. Hartford
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
ALBANY, N.Y. – Four Great Danes earned double-digit kills as the UAlbany volleyball team won a five-set home match over Hartford (25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12) to improve to 4-1 in America East play.
“We proved to be resilient after the second set,” said UAlbany coach MJ Engstrom. “Sometimes, after an emotional win, strange things happen, but we regained our composure and stayed focused. Hartford is well coached, and they had a great gameplan.”
Amanda Dolan had another stellar match for UAlbany (6-11, 4-1 AE) against Hartford (11-9, 1-3 AE), hitting .457 with 19 kills, with just three attack errors, and six blocks.
“We worked hard in practice, Hartford is an improved team from last year and gave us a great fight,” said Dolan. “I got a lot of support from the team, I had to focus to get the kills, and Mikala [McCauley] set me well.”
Amy Hunter had the team lead in kills for the second-straight match with a career-high 21, hitting .235. Laini Leindecker earned a tenth double-double on the year, hitting 200 with 16 kills and 21 digs, while Mikala McCauley earned her ninth with 57 assists, just one shy of a career-high, 14 digs and three blocks. Tatum Jungsten hit .429 with 10 kills and three blocks, including two solo. The back row play of Viktoriia Stroilo, Emily Lopes and Lauren Spreen combined for 49 digs at 21, 15 and 13 respectively, while Sofia Furlong added three kills and a trio of blocks.
“Our middles did an outstanding job blocking and hitting, and Amy [Hunter] did a great job off the bench,” said Engstrom. “Our defensive crew was outstanding as well. It was a great group effort, and I'm really proud of the way we pulled it out this afternoon.”
For the Hawks, Sareeta Nethersole hit .328 with 22 kills and 19 digs, while Kathyn Gawrych hit .323 with 13 kills. Setter Jackie Tamburri had a double-double of 52 assists, 10 digs, four kills and two aces.
An early 3-0 run, sandwiched by a Dolan block and kill, put UAlbany ahead 3-2. Hartford won a couple pairs of points, with a Tamburri ace giving the visitors a 10-8 lead, later leading 12-10. Leindecker earned a kill and went back to serve, taking UAlbany through a 5-0 run to put the home team up 15-12. Hartford pulled to within one at 15-14, not getting closer. At 16-15, four-consecutive Hartford errors, the final capped by a Jungsten-McCauley combo block, made the score 20-15 UAlbany. A late 3-0 run off Spreen's serving essentially sealed the game as UAlbany won set one 25-17.
Corinne Horanzy served Hartford to a second set-opening 8-0 streak. McCauley countered with three-in-a-row off her serving to try to get UAlbany back in the set. At 12-6, a Hunter kill sent Lopes back for serve as the Great Danes took the next five to pull the team within one at 12-11. Hartford got four of the next five to make it 16-12. Back-and-forth the team went until at 19-15, kills by Dolan, Furlong and Hunter got UAlbany back within one at 19-18. UAlbany did not get closer as a pair of Hartford points ended the run. The Hawks got the set 25-21 to even the match.
Hartford got an early 4-1 lead in set four, including two Nethersole kills. Stroilo served UAlbany through four-straight to give the home team a 5-4 lead. Hartford regained the lead, then at 8-7, Leindecker earned a pair of kills in a 3-0 run to put UAlbany up 10-8, later leading 12-9. At 13-11, Hunter had a pair of kills to start a 3-0 run, later having her own personal 3-0 run on three kills to push UAlbany up 19-13. Hartford made a push with three points in a row to pull within three, but UAlbany did not give up the lead the rest of the way. A couple of late Leindecker kills aided UAlbany to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Dolan earned a kill, block and another kill to put UAlbany up 3-1 to begin the fourth set. After Hartford won three-straight to go up 4-3, UAlbany countered with four-in-a-row off Lopes's serving to build a 7-4 lead, later going up 10-6. A 3-0 Hartford run brought the score within one as the teams followed by going back-and-forth. At 15-14, kills by Hunter and Leindecker built the home team lead to three. Hartford got three-straight kills, adding a UAlbany attack error to go up 18-17. Leindecker and Nethersole exchanged a pair of kills as the two teams exchanged points until a tie set at 22-22. Hartford got the last three points to win the game 25-22 and force a tiebreaker.
With two Jungsten kills, UAlbany got to a quick start in the fifth set at 4-1. The teams started to exchange, as Hartford got within one a couple of times. At 7-6, Dolan earned a solo block and a kill, with a Hartford attack error completing a 3-0 run at 10-6. Following some exchanges. A Nethersole kill and Tamburri ace pulled Hartford with two. Engstrom called a timeout to reorganize the team. Hunter earned a kill to setup match point, and after a Chandler Goodwin kill, Leindecker notched a kill to finish the tiebreaker set. UAlbany won 15-12 to earn the five-set victory.
UAlbany will finish the homestand on Friday, October 17th taking on UMBC at 7 p.m. in the University Gym.
