Stroilo Earns Second 500+ Dig Season, UAlbany Finishes 2014 Season With 3-0 Defeat at Buffalo
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – UAlbany was close in a pair of sets to its opponent, but finished up the 2014 season after a 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 22-25) defeat at Buffalo on Saturday night.
Viktoriia Stroilo earned 26 digs, totaling 517 on the year for her second 500+ dig season of her career after finishing with 560 as a sophomore in 2012. Laini Leindecker led UAlbany (10-17) in kills with 10, adding five digs. Mikala McCauley earned her 14th double-double with 26 assists, 10 digs and two aces, while Amanda Dolan got four kills and five blocks.
For Buffalo (17-15), Sable Staller hit .727 with eight kills, while Cassie Shado tallied seven kills and six blocks.
UAlbany started the first set with a 4-0 run off McCauley's serving, capped by two Furlong kills. At 5-1, Buffalo won eight of the next 11 points, with kills from five different players, to tie the set at 9-9. UAlbany got the lead back on a Shado attack error and a Leindecker kill. Buffalo countered with a 4-0 run to lead 13-11. UAlbany called timeout, getting two points back to tie it, then Buffalo got the next two points. UAlbany followed with a 3-0 run, sandwiched by kills from Dolan and Tatum Jungsten, to lead 16-15. Buffalo went ahead at 17-16 as the teams went back-and-forth. At 22-21 UAlbany, Amy Hunter earned two kills in a row to send UAlbany ahead 23-22. Buffalo countered with a 3-0 run, capped by a Staller kill, to win the set 25-23.
A 3-0 run by Buffalo, sandwiched by a kill and ace from Skyler Day, put the home team up 7-5 in the second set. Sparked by a Hunter kill, Lauren Spreen got an ace, adding a Day attack error to send UAlbany ahead 8-7. The teams exchanged points until at 11-11, Buffalo won six of the following seven points to go ahead 18-12. Later, a 3-0 Buffalo run made the score 24-15. UAlbany put together a last gasp run on McCauley's serving, capped by an ace for a 4-0 run, but an Akeila Lain kill finished the set 25-19 in favor of Buffalo for a 2-0 match lead.
With Hunter contributing a kill on each streak, UAlbany had a couple of early 3-0 runs to lead 6-3 in the third game. Buffalo got the next three points to tie the set at 6-6. At 8-8, Tessa Ooyama had a couple of aces in a 5-0 run to send the home team up 13-8, later leading 14-9. Leindecker had a couple of kills to pull UAlbany back to within two at 15-12. Buffalo got five of the next six points to go up 20-13. Hunter and Leindecker got kills, but Buffalo got set point at 24-17. Following a Buffalo attack error, against McCauley looked to serve UAlbany back into the set. Helped by a combo block from Leindecker and Dolan, then a Sofia Furlong solo block, McCauley served an ace. A Hannah Varley attack error for a fifth-consecutive UAlbany point made it 24-22. The comeback attempt fell short after Buffalo got the next point to win 25-22 and take the match in three.
This was the final match for UAlbany seniors Stroilo and Furlong.
