ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany volleyball team continues the season at the Chippewa Invitational, hosted by Central Michigan University.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
 
SITE: McGuirk Arena - Mount Pleasant, Mich.
STATS: CMUChippewas.com
TICKETS: CMUChippewas.com
PARKING: CMUChippewas.com
FAN INFO: CMUChippewas.com
RECORDS: 
     UAlbany 1-2, 0-0 AE
     Central Michigan 0-3, 0-0 MAC
     Bradley 3-0, 0-0 MVC
     Saint Louis 2-1, 0-0 A10
 
UAlbany at Central Michigan
DATE: Friday, September 1
TIME: 12:30 PM
SERIES RECORD: 0-0, first meeting
STREAM: ESPN+
 
Bradley vs UAlbany
DATE: Friday, September 1
TIME: 5:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, Bradley leads
STREAM: ESPN+
 
Saint Louis vs UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, September 2
TIME: 12:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 0-0, first meeting
STREAM: ESPN+
 
*records as of 8.31
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany started the season strong with a three-set sweep over Syracuse (Aug. 25).
• Despite falling in three sets to both Navy (Aug. 26) and UCF (Aug. 27), the Great Danes played three close sets against the Mids and consistently improved against the Knights.
• Leading the UAlbany's offense throughout the entire weekend, sophomore Anna Myhal was named All-Tournament.
• Myhal leads with 3.22 kills per set while sophomore Tori Wilson leads with a .259 hitting percentage.
• On defense, junior Sthefany Carvalho holds a team-high 2.33 digs per set.
• Following with 2.22 digs per set, senior Elisavet Papageorgiou holds a team-high six service aces after one weekend of play.
• In addition to prowess on the kill, Wilson leads the team with five blocks.

 
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

 
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN

• The Chippewas opened the season at the SEMO Invitational hosted by Southeast Missouri.
• CMU fell in all three matches - four sets against SEMO and Southern Illinois (Aug. 25) and five sets against Evansville (Aug. 26).
• Devon Bright leads the team with 2.38 kills per set and 10 service aces.
• Claire Ammeraal holds a team-high 3.15 digs per set while serving as the team's starting setter with 7.00 assists per set.
• Abby Olin tops the team with nine blocks.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE CHIPPEWAS

• This will be the first meeting between CMU and UAlbany.

 
ABOUT BRADLEY

• The Braves are 3-0 after an opening weekend hosting the CEFCU Invitational.
• Earning victories over SIU Edwardsville (Aug. 25), Eastern Michigan (Aug. 26), and IUPUI (Aug. 26), Bradley played a total of 10 sets with a four-set victory over Eastern Michigan.
• Tendai Titley leads the team with 2.50 kills per set 
• Dru Kuck owns two team-highs with 4.30 digs per set and five service aces.
• Kendall Minta leads on the block with 15 total blocks, including a team-high five solo blocks.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BRAVES

• UAlbany and Bradley have met just once before.
• The Braves took a four-set victory in 2006 at the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette, Ind.

 
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS

• The Billikens are 2-1 on the season after starting at the Crimson Tide Invitational.
• Defeating Mercer (five sets) and Mississippi Valley (three sets), Saint Louis fell to the host, Alabama in three sets.
• Emily Henken leads with 3.25 kills per set while Carlie Rodgers leads on defense with 4.00 digs per set.
• Jillian Mattingly and Trinity Luckett have five blocks each.
• Rodgers and Vivian Kieffer share the team-high with five service aces.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BILLIKENS

• This will be the first meeting between Saint Louis and UAlbany.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• Binghamton and New Hampshire started the season with a 3-1 week to lead the conference.
• Bryant and NJIT are tied at .500 with a 2-2 record.
• UAlbany and UMBC round out the AE with a 1-2 record each.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Thursday
  • NJIT vs Seton Hall, 5 pm
• Friday
  • NJIT vs George Mason, 11 am
  • UAlbany at Central Michigan, 12:30 pm
  • NJIT at Saint Peter's, 2 pm
  • Binghamton vs DePaul, 2 pm
  • Siena at Bryant, 4 pm
  • New Hampshire vs Holy Cross, 4 pm
  • UAlbany vs Saint Louis, 5 pm
  • UMBC vs Sacred Heart, 6 pm
• Saturday
  • UAlbany vs Bradley, 12 pm
  • New Hampshire at Harvard, 1 pm
  • Lafayette at Bryant, 1 pm
  • UMBC at Fairfield, 2 pm
  • Binghamton at Buffalo, 3 pm
  • New Hampshire vs Stonehill, 4 pm
  • Northeastern at Bryant, 7 pm

 
UP NEXT: At the conclusion of the Chippewa Invitational, the Great Danes will play a midweek contest at St. John's before heading to Colgate for the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament.
 
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