LOCATION: Newman Arena at Bartels Hall - Ithaca, N.Y.
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes split the final day in Ithaca with a victory against Cornell and a loss against Colgate, Saturday.
COACH JOSH PICKARD: "This was a good weekend for Great Dane Volleyball. To come out 2-1 against this level of teams is a great finish! We are growing every weekend and I'm excited to see what this team is capable of. The first match back in Albany this week will be a good team of our continued growth."
GAME ONE
SCORE: UAlbany 3, Cornell 2 (15-25, 25-12, 25-22, 19-25, 15-6)
RECORDS: UAlbany 2-6, 0-0 America East | Cornell 2-3, 0-0 Ivy League
KEY STATS
- Freshman Anna Myhal added a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs.
- Sophomore Alexa Harris led the offense with 18 kills while senior Charlotte Macken led the defense with 24 digs.
- Junior Hannah Rowe notched double-digit kills with 15.
- Junior Sadie Brown and Myhal led the team with two blocks each. Both of Myhal's blocks were solo.
- Junior setter Malea Stanton tallied 43 assists and two service aces for two team-highs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Cornell jumped to a 12-2 advantage quickly in the first set.
- The Great Danes made a late-set scoring run but were unable to overcome the early lead and the Big Red took the first set, 25-15.
- Similarly, UAlbany worked for a 9-3 lead with two scoring runs in the second set.
- Adding three multi-point runs, including two with four unanswered points, the Great Danes took the second set, 25-12.
- With a tied match score, the third set was much more evenly played. The largest point margin was three points. A three-point lead was held by both teams throughout the set.
- Trading points, the Great Danes tallied a 4-0 scoring run to take a 12-10 advantage.
- UAlbany gradually worked to maintain the lead as the Big Red came within one point of tying the score with three unanswered points. Ahead by one point, 21-20, the Great Danes went 5-2 to take the set 25-22.
- Much like the third, the fourth set saw back-and-forth play.
- UAlbany started with a 2-0 lead but Cornell worked to tie the score at eight.
- The Big Red went on a 6-1 scoring run to take a 17-13 advantage.
- The Great Danes were unable to overcome the lead as Cornell continued to advance their lead and eventually take the set, 25-19.
- UAlbany notched five unanswered points to start the final set.
- Cornell answered but was unable to get a significant start as the Great Danes added six-straight points to close the set, 15-6, and the match, 3-2.
GAME TWO
SCORE: Colgate 3, UAlbany 1 (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22)
RECORDS: UAlbany 2-7, 0-0 America East | Colgate 7-3, 0-0 Patriot League
KEY STATS
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Colgate scored the first point of the match before gaining an 8-5 advantage.
- Four-straight points from the Great Danes and they took the lead for the first time of the set.
- Each team traded points until the Raiders tallied three straight for a 16-13 lead.
- The remainder of the set turned into a back-and-forth with one 3-0 scoring run for Colgate to secure the Raiders' set win, 25-20.
- UAlbany notched the first point of the second set but Colgate took advantage of their opportunities to gain a four-point lead, 8-4.
- The Raiders remained with a two-point lead for multiple rallies before the Great Danes tied the score at the midway point, 15.
- Once again, Colgate pulled away but UAlbany tied the score at 20 with a service ace from Kaleigh Fitzgerald.
- The Raiders took a two-set lead with a final 3-1 scoring run.
- After back-and-forth points, the Great Danes pulled away in the fourth set. Gaining an 8-5 lead, UAlbany held on to the advantage through two early ties for a five-point lead, 16-11, and eventually a six-point lead, 19-13.
- As the Raiders were unable to close the point gap, the Great Danes closed the set with a 25-21 win after a final kill from Alexa Harris.
- Colgate started the final set with a 3-0 run.
- UAlbany worked to tie the score at seven with a 4-1 scoring run.
- The Raiders tallied two runs, one for five straight points and the other for four, to make it a 20-15 set.
- The Great Danes answered with three-straight points but it wasn't enough as Colgate took the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
NEXT: The Great Danes will open their home slate, hosting Marist on Tuesday, September 13 for a 7 pm match.
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
