LOCATION: Sinclair Gymnasium - Harrisonburg, Va.
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes opened the 2022 season at the JMU Invitational, Friday. Battling two difficult teams, UAlbany proved to play together as a team but ultimately fell in each match, 3-1.
COACH JOSH PICKARD: ??"We started off well this morning and showed a glimpse of what we are capable of. Now it's time for us to sustain that higher level of play."
GAME ONE
SCORE: Kent State 3, UAlbany 1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-23)
RECORDS: UAlbany 0-1, 0-0 America East | Kent State 1-0, 0-0 MAC
KEY STATS
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Woroniuk earned the first point of the season with the first kill of the match.
- After a 4-0 scoring run, the Great Danes held a 5-1 lead over the Flashes.
- Kent State closed the scoring gap to 7-5, but UAlbany tallied 11 straight points to put the set out of reach. Owning an 18-5 lead, the Great Danes continued to win the first set of the season, 25-16.
- The second set did not see as many points scored during runs. A close game throughout, the largest lead was four points, held by Kent State (17-13).
- The Great Danes earned the first multi-point lead of the set, 6-4, but the Flashes gradually took the lead at 12-11.
- After tying the score at 19, UAlbany took a 22-21 lead but a 4-0 scoring run for Kent State tied the match with a set win, 25-22.
- The Flashes came to the third set with a burning fire, quickly jumping to a double-digit lead, 12-2. The Great Danes picked up the pace but were unable to overcome the point gap and Kent State took the third set, 25-12.
- The final set proved just as, if not closer played, than the second.
- Kent State grabbed an early 9-3 lead but UAlbany was able to work back those points and take a 16-15 advantage after tying the score at 14.
- The final points of the match were a true back and forth as the Great Danes held a two-point advantage twice and the Flashes just once - with the final score. Kent State took the third set, 25-23, to win the match, 3-1.
GAME TWO
SCORE: JMU 3, UAlbany 1 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17)
RECORDS: UAlbany 0-2, 0-0 America East | James Madison 1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt
"I'm happy with how the team battled against JMU," added head coach
Josh Pickard. "That's a really good team and we pushed them at times."
KEY STATS
- Once again. Alexa Harris led the offense with 21 kills and Anna Myhal followed with 11.
- Charlotte Macken (11) and Myhal (10) topped the defense with their respective dig totals.
- Sophomore Zosia Szczotkiewicz owned a game-high 35 assists.
- Anissia Wong led the blockers with eight while junior Kaleigh Fitzgerald tallied two service aces.
- Throughout the second set, the Great Danes owned a .382 hitting percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set opened close but James Madison took an 11-5 lead with six-straight points.
- The Dukes earned multiple point runs and the Great Danes were unable to catch up as JMU took the first set, 25-15.
- James Madison earned a quick lead in the second set but UAlbany worked to tie the score at nine.
- After taking turns earning the next 12 pints (tied at 15-15), JMU jumped to a multi-point advantage.
- The Great Danes tallied a tie at 21 before taking a lead to win the second set, 25-21, with a kill from Alexa Harris.
- Both the third and fourth sets proved to be similar - UAlbany earned an early one-point lead but was unable to hold onto it as the Dukes would take multi-point leads to win each set.
- With a kill from Anna Myhal, the Great Danes took a 3-2 advantage early in the third set. JMU tallied a 3-0 scoring run to take a multi-point lead but UAlbany kept up the work to close the scoring gap and tie the score at five.
- A second Duke scoring run, 5-0, proved difficult for the Great Danes and led to JMU taking the third set. 25-18.
- Much like the third, the fourth set started with an early lead for the Great Danes, 5-4.
- Throughout the final set, the Dukes would jump ahead before UAlbany would catch up with one or two points of their own.
- In the end, the Great Danes' final point came from a service ace from Kaleigh Fitzgerald for a four-point deficit, 21-17, but James Madison tallied four-straight points to finish the set and the match.
"This part of the season is about growth, and it's great to see the team working together and getting better," finished Pickard.
NEXT: The Great Danes will close the weekend in Virginia with a match against Robert Morris at 4 pm on Saturday (Aug. 27).
For more information on the University at Albany volleyball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyvb
Instagram - @ualbanyvb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyVB
