SCORE: UConn 3, UAlbany 2 (25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 32-30, 15-3)
 
LOCATION: Women's Building - Syracuse, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 0-1, 0-0 America East | UConn 1-0, 0-0 Big East
 
SHORT STORY: After falling in the first set, the Great Danes came back to win two sets before falling in the final two, 32-30 and 15-3.
 
COACH JOSH PICKARD: "It was a tough loss for the Great Danes. I'm proud of the production from our right sides. We had some really good play and we had some things that we will need to work on. It was good to play against someone else and we learned a lot of valuable lessons."
 
KEY STATS

• Freshman Oren Abutbul led the Great Danes with 14 kills.
• Senior Charlotte Macken paved the way on defense with 24 digs.
• Junior Malea Stanton and freshman Elaina Wamhoff were both steady with their sets as Stanton led with 20 assists and Wamhoff followed with 18.
• Caylee Parker led the Huskies with 17 kills.
• UConn outhit UAlbany, .213 to .127.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Throughout each set, the Huskies and the Great Danes were neck and neck.
• Graduate student Danielle Tedesco, assisted by junior Malea Stanton, earned a kill for the first point of the season.
• The beginning of the first set was back and forth until the Great Danes earned five straight points to give the team a 10-6 lead.
• The Huskies came back to tie it up at 12-12 before earning nine points in 11 volleys and eventually taking the first set, 25-19.
• The second set saw UAlbany take an early 6-2 lead and keep rolling for an eventual 17-10 lead. UConn tried to earn the comeback, bringing the score to 17-15 but the Great Danes would not allow it, tying the match score with a 25-20 second set win.
• The third set was the true definition of back-and-forth as neither team held more than a three-point lead. UAlbany took the close set with a 25-23 win.
• The Great Danes proved to play good volleyball with the Huskies as the fourth set proved it was a true nail-biter. A three-point lead was held for just one volley, by UConn, with both teams working hard for the set win. After a neck-and-neck set, the Huskies once again tied the match score with the 32-30 set win.
• To close their opening game, UConn took the fifth set and won the match, 3-2.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will play in two games on Saturday, August 28. UAlbany will open with UB at 11 a.m. before facing the tournament host, Syracuse, at 7 p.m.