UAlbany Volleyball Returns to the America East Title Match with 3-0 Sweep of Stony Brook

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DURHAM, N.H. – The UAlbany volleyball team will be in the America East title match for the eighth time in nine years after shutting out Stony Brook in three (25-18, 25-19, 25-15) in the semifinal round in Durham.

UAlbany (17-8) came back from down five in the second set against Stony Brook (12-19) to keep control en route to the three-set win at the Lundholm Gymnasium.  The Great Danes outblocked Stony Brook 10-2 and hit .207 compared to its opponent's .059.

““We had a game plan, and we executed pretty well,” said UAlbany coach MJ Engstrom.  Our serves kept them off of their offense.  Tatum [Jungsten] served great in that second set for the huge comeback we needed.  We knew we could attack well in the middle, and we passed very well to do that.  Our middles paid great attention for all those blocks.”

The Great Danes will play the winner of New Hampshire-Binghamton tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham.  UAlbany is seeking its first America East title since 2011 and seventh overall.

“We executed, a lot of people stepped up and our serves were very aggressive,” said Laini Leindecker.  “We never gotten shaken in a set, and no one was nervous in that second set, we just did our job.”

Amanda Dolan had a match-best .500 hitting percentage with 10 kills and five blocks.  Mikala McCauley earned a double-double with 27 assists, 12 digs and four blocks.  Leindecker notched 10 kills and six digs, while Tatum Jungsten picked up five kills, four service aces and three blocks.

“MJ [Engstrom] did a great job preparing us, and we were practicing to play a strong front row,” said Dolan.  “We knew Stony Brook was very good; I just focused on the other team for the blocks.”

For Stony Brook, Taylor Wilson concluded with eight kills and 13 digs, while Melann Amory finished with eight kills and four digs.

Off Gabrielle Hansen's serving, UAlbany jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first set, to which Stony Brook responded with three points to tie it up.  At 4-4, UAlbany went back ahead as McKyla Brooks made three attack errors in a row, the final stopped by Leindecker on a solo block, to lead 8-4.  Later, UAlbany extended the advantage to 13-6 off kills from Lyndsey Weiler and Chloe Lamb and a Jungsten solo block.  Stony Brook pulled to within four at 15-11, then an SBU service error, a Dolan kill, two McCauley-Dolan combo blocks and a Leindecker hit through the block pushed the score to 20-11, later to 22-12 after another Dolan block.  Stony Brook made a late charge with three points in a row to pull to 23-16.  UAlbany withstood the run and took set one 25-18 after a Jungsten kill in the middle.

The second set saw both teams exchange points, with a Weiler kill putting UAlbany up 4-3.  Stony Brook got the next five points to go up 8-4. UAlbany looked to come back with kills from Weiler and Leindecker making it 12-8 Stony Brook.  After a Melann Amory kill, a Hansen back row strike and kill sent Jungsten back to serve.  Her serving proved difficult for the Seawolves, notching four aces in five points, adding a Dolan kill and two SBU attack errors for an 8-0 run to push UAlbany ahead 16-13.  After some back and forth to make it 19-17, a Weiler kill sparked a 5-0 UAlbany run to set up game point.  Stephanie McFadden got two points for Stony Brook, then Weiler earned another kill to finish the set.  UAlbany took game two 25-19 to lead 2-0 in the match.

At 3-3 in the second set, a Leindecker kill began a 3-0 run, capped by a Dolan kill on the end line, to lead 6-3, later going up 8-4 after a Dolan kill and Leindecker ace.  UAlbany kept exchanging a point for two of its own with kills and blocks, building the advantage to 14-7.  Stony Brook used a 3-0 run to pull within 16-12, to which UAlbany countered with five in a row, capped by kills from Lamb and Dolan, to surge ahead 21-12.  Weiler earned another couple of late kills, then a Hansen ace finished it as UAlbany took set three 25-15 to win the match in three.

This match was the second time in a row UAlbany shutout Stony Brook in the America East Tournament, with the other coming in 2011.