Dolan Hits .478, Leindecker Notches 13th Double-Double in UAlbany Four-Set Win at Hartford
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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The UAlbany volleyball team hit .252 and outblocked its foe 11-4 to earn a big victory on the road, defeating Hartford in four sets (25-13, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15) on Friday night.
Laini Leindecker earned a big night for UAlbany (8-14, 6-4 AE), leading the team in kills with 15 and aces with a career-high of four, adding 14 digs for her 13th double-double of the year. Amanda Dolan hit .478 without an attack error in the match, earning 11 kills and five blocks, while Amy Hunter finished with 14 kills and a trio of blocks.
"We played well in sets 1 & 4, we served aggressively on both and the scores reflect that," said UAlbany coach MJ Engstrom. "We let up in the third set, but I'm proud that we were able to refocus in the last set. Laini [Leindecker] did a great job in all aspects, Amanda [Dolan] was awesome in the middle and Amy [Hunter] had a good night as well."
With the victory, UAlbany is a win or UMBC loss away from securing a berth in the America East Tournament.
For Hartford (15-12, 3-6 AE), Saretta Nethersole got a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs. Corinne Horanzy finished with seven kills and 16 digs.
Down 4-3 in the first set, UAlbany surged forward with a 5-0 run off Viktoriia Stroilo's serving and a pair of kills from Hunter to go up 8-4. UAlbany got another spurt off Lauren Spreen's serving, capped by an ace, for three-straight to lead 12-6. At 15-9, a Dolan block, a Leindecker ace and two Hunter kills pushed UAlbany up 19-9. The Great Danes did not look back as Leindecker finished the set with two kills for a 25-13 set win.
Three consecutive kills, following by a Dolan-Leindecker combo block, led UAlbany to start set two with the first four points. Including two kills from Nethersole, Hartford tied the set up at 5-5. The Hawks took the lead at 9-8, then Dolan notched a couple of kills, adding a Hartford attack error making it 12-9 UAlbany. After an exchange, two Nethersole kills sparked a 3-0 run to tie the game at 13-13. At 14-14, the Great Danes went back up with four of the next five, capped by a diving dig by Emily Lopes to set up a Tatum Jungsten kill, to make it 18-15. Maya Louis got a kill, then UAlbany struck back with a Hunter kill, Hartford attack error, Mikala McCauley dump kill, Leindecker kill and another Hartford attack error to build the lead to 23-16. A Jungsten ace sealed it as UAlbany won game two 25-17 to go up 2-0 in the match.
UAlbany took the first two points, capped by a Dolan kill, in set three, increasing its lead to three off a Hunter kill to make it 5-2. The two went back-and-forth until Hartford tied it up at 9-9. UAlbany got back the lead a couple of times, but Hartford went ahead at 14-12. At 15-14, the home team won six of the next seven points to surge ahead 21-15. Stopping the run on a Leindecker kill, UAlbany won the next four, capped by a Hunter kill, to pull within two at 21-19. The Great Danes did not get closer as the Hawks won the last four points to win set three 25-19 to pull within 2-1 in the match.
Set four started back and forth as the teams were tied at 4-4. A Hunter kill started a 3-0 run for UAlbany to make it 7-4. At 8-6, McCauley and Leindecker took over. Leindecker notched a kill to send McCauley back to serve. Leindecker earned another kill, then McCauley served an ace, inducing Hartford to call a timeout. Sofia Furlong and Dolan blocked the next attack by Nethersole. Then, Leindecker added a third kill, followed by a second McCauley ace, capping the run at 6-0 to make it 14-6. Following two Nethersole kills, Leindecker earned a kill to spark another run, helped by a block and kill by Hunter, to go up 18-8. Hartford made a late 3-0 run, but UAlbany won three of the final four points, capped by a Dolan kill, to secure the fourth set 25-15 and win the match 3-1.
UAlbany will head to Long Island on Sunday, taking on Stony Brook at 1 p.m.
