ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany volleyball team is set to open the 2023 season at home for the first time in over 20 years.
 
The Great Danes are hosting the UAlbany Invitational at the Albany Capital Center on August 25-27. Welcoming three teams - Syracuse, Navy, and UCF - the Purple and Gold are set to hold six matches across three days. 
 
Parking will be available in the surrounding garages. For more information on parking and the Capital Center, click here.
 
Concessions will be available throughout each day of the tournament.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
 
SITE: Albany Capital Center - Albany, N.Y.
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: AE.TV (select games only)
RECORDS: 
     UAlbany 0-0, 0-0 AE
     Syracuse 0-0, 0-0 ACC
     Navy 0-0, 0-0 Patriot
     UCF 0-0, 0-0 Big 12
 
Syracuse at UAlbany
DATE: Friday, August 25
TIME: 7:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 8-3, Syracuse leads
 
Navy at UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, August 26
TIME: 3:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 1-1, series tied
 
UCF at UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, August 27
TIME: 1:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, UCF leads
 
*records as of 8.24
 
For more information, including a full schedule and individual video links, click here.
 
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

 
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

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany earned its first win during the 2022 season at the Cornell Invitational over Temple. The Great Danes went out to go 2-1 at the invitational in Ithaca, N.Y.
• The team added single-game non-conference wins over Marist, Siena, and Stonehill.
• Ending the season fifth in the America East, the Great Danes earned victories over NJIT and Binghamton.

 
ABOUT SYRACUSE

• The Orange finished the 2022 season 11-17 overall with a 7-11 record in the ACC.
• Starting the season with two wins, Syracuse went on to gain a 4-6 record before beginning conference play.
• The Orange finished 11th out of the 15-team league.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE ORANGE

• The Orange holds an 8-3 series lead over the Great Danes.
• Most recently, Syracuse found a three-set victory in 2021 when the Orange hosted a season-opening tournament (Aug. 27-28).

 
ABOUT NAVY

• The Mids finished the 2022 season 16-12.
• A member of the Patriot League, Navy went 11-5 in conference play.
• After starting the season 3-6 with three tournaments under their belt, the Mids began conference play with seven wins in eight matches. 
• Competing in an extra-point five-set match over Army in the Patriot League semifinals, Navy advanced to the championship before falling to Colgate.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE MIDS

• UAlbany and Navy have met just twice before.
• Under the direction of Kelly Sheffield, the Great Danes earned a three-set sweep over the host school in 2002.
• Current head coach Josh Pickard visited Navy with his 2022 team. In a close four-set match with two sets being determined by two points, the Mids took the win. 

 
ABOUT CENTRAL FLORIDA

• The Knights lost just two games in a 30-game 2022 season.
• Going 19-1 in conference play, UCF shared the regular-season title with Houston. 
• The Knights advanced to the NCAA Tournament after earning an automatic bid.
• After defeating Yale in three sets for a First Round victory, Central Florida fell in just its second loss of the season to Penn State in the Second Round.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE KNIGHTS

• UAlbany and UCF have met just once before.
• The Knights hosted a tournament in 2019 in which they earned a three-set victory over the Great Danes on September 7.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • New Hampshire vs Southern Indiana, 1 pm
  • UMBC vs Ohio, 1:30 pm
  • NJIT vs Delaware State, 3 pm
  • UNLV vs Bryant, 6 pm
  • New Hampshire at Indiana, 7 pm
  • Merrimack at Binghamton, 7 pm
  • Syracuse at UAlbany, 7 pm
• Saturday
  • New Hampshire vs Radford, 12 pm
  • UMBC vs High Point, 12:30 pm
  • Duquesne at Binghamton, 1 pm
  • NJIT at Hofstra, 1:30 pm
  • Bryant at Air Force, 2:30 pm
  • Navy at UAlbany, 3 pm
  • NJIT vs Siena, 4:30 pm
  • URI vs Bryant, 7 pm
  • Saint Peter's at Binghamton, 7 pm
• Sunday
  • UCF at UAlbany, 1 pm
  • UMBC at James Madison, 2 pm

 
UP NEXT
At the conclusion of the UAlbany Invitational, the Great Danes will head to Central Michigan for the Chippewa Invitational (Sept. 1-2).
 
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