UAlbany Downed in Pair of Matches to Finish Yale Invitational
UAlbany @ Yale - Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
UAlbany vs. Minnesota - Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – UAlbany volleyball took on a pair of 2013 NCAA participants on Saturday, falling to Yale 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 16-25, 24-26) and 18th-ranked Minnesota (13-25, 11-25, 19-25).
Laini Leindecker led UAlbany (1-5) with 20 kills and 18 digs, including a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs vs. Yale. Mikala McCauley also earned a double-double with 26 assists and 16 digs, totaling 37 assists and 25 digs on the day, while Amy Hunter earned 14 kills.
Amanda Dolan was named to the All-Tournament Team, hitting .208 with 22 kills and nine blocks in the invitational.
Against UAlbany, Yale's Kaitlyn Gibbons hit .325 with 18 kills and three blocks, while Jesse Ebner hit .308 with 13 kills, nine digs and four blocks. Minnesota's Adrianna Nora had 10 blocks, hitting .500 with four blocks. Sarah Wilhite added eight kills, six digs and two aces.
UAlbany had to rebound early from a 11-6 deficit in the first set against Yale. Kills from Hunter and Leindecker sparked a 3-0 UAlbany run to pull the team within two. At 14-11, Leindecker earned a kill and went back to serve, leading the team through a 5-0 run to give UAlbany a 16-14 lead. Following an Ebner kill, Dolan earned a pair of kills to make it 18-15. Yale took the next four, including two Gibbons kills. UAlbany struck back with four-in-a-row off Emily Lopes's serving to put UAlbany up 22-19. UAlbany did not lose the lead again in the game, taking the set 25-22.
The Great Danes used two Olivia Schonewise kills and two combo blocks from Sofia Furlong and Dolan to start up 5-0 in set two. Including four kills from Gibbons, the tournament host won 10 of the following 12 points to lead 10-7. UAlbany countered by winning five of the next six points, capped by a kill and block from Furlong. The teams went back and forth, with a Tatum Jungsten solo block putting the Great Danes up 16-15. Yale got two strong serving runs from Ebner and Kelly Johnson to get 10 of the next 12 points to win the set 25-18.
An early 3-0 Yale run put the Bulldogs ahead 4-2 in the third set. After UA tied the set at four after a Yale attack error and Dolan kill, the two sides traded points, making the score 12-11. Johnson led Yale on a 5-0 run off her serving to make the score 17-11, with the team using another 3-0 run to lead 20-12. Two Jungsten blocks stopped the Yale run, but UAlbany could not get another run going as the Bulldogs won 25-16 to go up 2-1 in the match.
After another 4-2 Yale start, kills from Furlong and Dolan started a 5-0 UAlbany run to give the Great Danes a 7-4 lead. At 7-6, UA took five of the next six to build a 12-7 advantage, later earning another 3-0 run off a trio of kills to lead 15-9. Yale pulled to within 18-16, to which UAlbany got the lead back to 22-17, capped by two Hunter kills. Yale won four of the next five, with a Leindecker kill getting a set point opportunity for UAlbany at 24-22. Led by two Johnson kills, Yale got the next four points to win 26-24 and take the match.
UAlbany tried to turn around and take on Minnesota. A Schonewise kill and a Dolan-Furlong combo block put the Great Danes up 2-0. At 3-2 UA, two kills from Nora helped the Golden Gophers go on a 9-0 streak, later using a 4-0 run to lead 15-5. At 19-7, McCauley served UAlbany through a 4-0 spurt, including an ace, to make it 19-11 Minnesota. That run was countered by four-in-a-row from Minnesota as it took the set 25-13.
The Great Danes earned the first two points in set two off a Leindecker kill and Nora attack error. Minnesota won eight of the next nine to build an 8-3 advantage, later leading 11-4. UAlbany pulled with six twice, but another run of 8-1 by Minnesota put the Golden Gophers up 21-8. A late kill by Hunter was not enough as UAlbany fell 25-11 in set two.
Set three saw early trouble for UAlbany as Minnesota, helped by kills from five different players, began the set up 14-3, later leading 18-7. Started by a Hunter kill, Viktoriia Stroilo had a strong serving run, leading to a 7-0 streak and pulling UAlbany within four at 18-14. After a Nora kill, UAlbany shortened the deficit more after a Dolan kill and Wilhite attack error to put in at 19-16. UAlbany was unable to put another run together, falling in set three 25-19, giving the match to Minnesota 3-0.
UAlbany will head to Arizona next week to compete in the Lumberjack Classic, taking on UC Riverside at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 12th.
