ALBANY, N.Y. -  The UAlbany volleyball team will prepare for its final match of the regular season.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
 
UAlbany at UMBC
DATE: Sunday, November 12
TIME: 1:00 PM
 SITE: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena – Baltimore, MD.
RECORDS: UAlbany 7-17, 2-7 AE | UMBC 14-7, 7-2 AE
SERIES RECORD: 35-14, UAlbany leads
STATS: UMBCRetrievers.com
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: AE.TV
TICKETS: UMBCRetrievers.com
 
*records as of 11.11
 
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

• In their final midweek matchup, UAlbany was bested by LIU in four hard-fought sets. 
• Redshirt-freshman Gabriella Karman and redshirt-sophomore Kendall Harris led the team with 13 kills.
• Sophomore Anna Myhal tallied a career-high 20 digs in her first game as the libero. 
• Junior setter Zosia Szczotkiewicz finished the match with 40 assists and four blocks.
• Freshman Nicole Bell recorded a career-high three service aces.
• Despite winning the first set, the Great Danes fell to New Hampshire.
• Karman led the team with 10 kills and 11.5 points.
• Following close behind, freshman Campbell Robinson finished nine kills with a .412 hitting percentage while recording a team-high three blocks.
• Junior Sthefany Carvalho tallied a team-best 17 digs.

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany holds a 7-17 record on the season with a 2-7 America East record.
• The Great Danes started their season with a three-set sweep over Syracuse (Aug. 25). 
• Following the win, UAlbany played close sets against Navy (Aug. 26) and UCF (Aug. 27) to close the UAlbany Invitational before falling to 1-5 with three losses at the Chippewa Invitational (Sept. 1-2).
• Going 1-2 at each of their final regular season tournaments, the Great Danes beat Cornell at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament (Sept. 8-9) and George Mason at the Patriot Invite (Sept. 15-16).
• UAlbany won back-to-back matches defeating Siena (Sept. 20) and Sacred Heart (Sept. 27) before beginning conference play.
• After falling to NJIT (Oct. 1) and Bryant (Oct. 6), the Great Danes earned their first conference victory by defeating UMBC (Oct. 8) in five sets. 
• Conceding defeats to Binghamton (Oct. 15) and New Hampshire (Oct. 20), UAlbany bested NJIT (Oct. 22) for their second conference victory.
• Falling in their last four matchups, the Great Danes played Binghamton (Oct. 27), Bryant (Oct. 29), LIU (Oct. 31), and New Hampshire (Nov. 5).
• Redshirt-sophomore Shynelle Woroniuk leads the team with 3.11 kills per set and 3.41 points per set.
• On defense, Sthefany Carvalho holds the team-high with 3.37 digs per set.
• Junior Zosia Szczotkiewicz leads the Great Danes with a team-high in aces (30). Carvalho and senior Elisavet Papageorgiou trail behind tied with 24.
• Gabriella Karman has recorded 65 blocks this season (0.97/set), including 12 solo blocks, while sophomore Tori Wilson and Kendall Harris trail with 42.
• The team's primary setter, Szczotkiewicz has tallied 638 assists in 68 sets (9.38/set).

 
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

• The UAlbany coaching staff is constantly at work to represent different cultures and countries on their roster each year.
• The 2023 roster traveled a total of 32,597 miles from their homes to UAlbany.
• Seven different countries and five different states within the USA are included on the 14-person roster.
  • United States
    • New York: Kyrah Wilbur, Nicole Bell
    • Texas: Tori Wilson, Kendall Harris
    • Connecticut: Naliah Grannell
    • Florida: Gabriella Karman
    • Ohio: Campbell Robinson
  • Canada: Brooke Malek, Shynelle Woroniuk
  • Poland: Emilia Kuzniar, Zosia Szczotkiewicz
  • Brazil: Sthefany Carvalho
  • Greece: Elisavet Papageorgiou
  • Ukraine: Anna Myhal

 
IN THE RANKINGS
(As of November 6)

• Six Great Danes hold positions in the top statistical rankings within the America East.
  • Zosia Szczotkiewicz
    • 1st - 9.38 assists/set
    • 1st - 0.44 service aces/set
  • Gabriella Karman
    • 1st - .308 hitting percentage 
    • 6th - .97 blocks/set
  • Sthefany Carvalho
    • 4th - 2.68 digs/set 
  • Shynelle Woroniuk
    • 6th - 3.11 kills/set
    • 6th -3.41 points per set
  • Elisavet Papageorgiou
    • 9th - 2.71 digs/set
  • Kendall Harris
    • 10th- 2.37 kills/set

 
WORK AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM
(As of November 6)

• The Great Danes' rank in the conference:
  • 3rd - 11.36 opponent assists 
  • 3rd - 12.41 opponent kills 
  • 3rd - 1.62 service aces
  • 4th - 14.35 opponent digs 
  • 4th - 2.29 opponent blocks

 
ABOUT UMBC

• The Retrievers own a 14-7 record and are 7-2 in conference play.
• In two non-conference tournaments - the JMU Invitational (Aug 25-27) and the Penn State Classic (Sept. 15-17) - UMBC tallied two wins and three losses. 
• The Retrievers earned consecutive victories against Sacred Heart (Sept. 1), Fairfield (Sept. 2), Princeton (Sept. 8), and Howard (Sept 9).
• Before conference play commenced, UMBC was defeated by Virginia (Sept. 10) and #8 Pittsburgh (Sept. 20).
• After defeating Bryant (Sept. 29) and New Hampshire (Oct. 1), the Retrievers tallied their first conference loss at UAlbany (Oct. 8). 
• UMBC earned straight-set wins against NJIT (Oct. 15), Binghamton (Oct. 19), and Bryant (Oct. 22).
• Following a four-set loss to New Hampshire (Oct. 29), the Retrievers defeated Howard (Nov. 1) and Binghamton (Nov. 5).
• Most recently, UMBC earned a three-set victory over NJIT (Nov. 10).
• Kamani Conteh leads the team with 3.40 kills per set and 3.86 points per set.
• Hannah Howard has tallied a team-best 4.53 digs per set.
• Mila Ilieva owns a team-high 85 blocks, including seven solo.
• Serin Maden and Aysia Miller have shared time at setter. Maden leads with 408 assists in 77 sets (5.30/set) compared to Miller's 346 assists in 58 sets (5.97/set). 

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RETRIEVERS 

• The Great Danes lead the all-time series, 35-14.
• Defeating UMBC in five hard-fought sets, UAlbany snapped a six-game losing streak earlier this season.
• Shynelle Woroniuk led the team with 14 kills while Campbell Robinson recorded a career-high nine blocks. 
• Sthefany Carvalho registered a season-best 23 digs in the winning effort. 
• UMBC won both matches in the 2022 season.

 
A NEW BEGINNING

• The Great Danes welcome nine newcomers with five returning student-athletes. 
• Sophomore Anna Myhal returns after having been the only Great Dane to start all 27 matches in 2022. 
• Senior Naliah Grannell and redshirt-sophomore Shynelle Woroniuk return with double-digit starts as a blocker and outside hitter, respectively.
• Sophomores Zosia Szczotkiewicz and Brooke Malek add valuable experience as a setter and on defense, respectively.
• Among the newcomers are mid-year transfers Kendall Harris (Coastal Carolina) and Elisavet Papageorgiou (Eastern Illinois). Gabriella Karman (NC State), Sthefany Carvalho (MSU-West Plains), and Tori Wilson (NC Central) joined the team from their respective schools ahead of the fall semester.
• UAlbany also added four freshmen: Nicole Bell, Emilia Kuzniar, Campbell Robinson, and Kyrah Wilbur.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UMBC, Bryant, Binghamton, and New Hampshire have all clinched a playoff berth.
• UMBC (7-2) currently sits first in the conference.
• Close behind are New Hampshire (6-3) and Binghamton (6-3), trailing by only one loss. 
• Bryant sits in fourth with a 6-4 conference record. 
• UAlbany sits outside the top four with a 2-7 record.
• NJIT rounds out the conference with only one win through 10 conference matches.  

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Sunday
  • Binghamton at New Hampshire, 1 pm
  • UAlbany at UMBC, 1 pm

 
For more information on the University at Albany volleyball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyvb
Instagram & Threads - @ualbanyvb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyVB