LOCATION: McGuirk Arena - Mount Pleasant, Mich.
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes opened weekend play with heart as they battled it out in six sets, Friday.
 
GAME ONE
 
SCORE: Central Michigan 3, UAlbany 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18)
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 1-3, 0-0 AE | Central Michigan 1-3, 0-0 MAC
 
KEY STATS

• Sophomore Kendall Harris led the Great Danes with eight kills while redshirt-sophomore Shynelle Woroniuk followed with seven.
• On defense, junior Sthefany Carvalho tallied a team-high 11 digs.
• On the net, UAlbany totaled 15 blocks with four coming from redshirt-freshman Gabriella Karman.
• Sophomore Zosia Szczotkiewicz served as the starting setter with 25 assists.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Great Danes opened the match with a 5-1 scoring run.
• After trading points back and forth, the Chippewas tied the score at 12 and then took the lead, 13-12, with three straight points.
• UAlbany regained the lead with five unanswered points for a 17-13 advantage.
• CMU closed in on match point with a 10-1 scoring run. Despite a three-point run from the Great Danes, the Chippewas closed the set, 25-22.
• The back-and-forth action continued in the second set before Central Michigan scored three straight points to gain a 9-6 lead.
• Each team saw another 3-0 scoring run throughout the second set as play remained back and forth before the Chippewas took the 25-21 set win.
• CMU opened what proved to be the final set with a 10-2 scoring run that included eight unanswered points.
• Outside of two four-point scoring runs for the Great Danes, play remained back and forth for much of the third set but it was not enough as the Chippewas took advantage of their early scoring run to take the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-0.

 
GAME TWO
 
SCORE: Bradley 3, UAlbany 0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-20)
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 1-3, 0-0 AE | Bradley 3-1, 0-0 MVC
 
KEY STATS

• Shynelle Woroniuk led the Great Danes' offense with 11 kills while adding a team-high 19 receptions.
• Owning a team-high 8.5 points, Kendall Harris worked for eight kills.
• Senior Elisavet Papageorgiou led the defensive with 11 digs.
• The Great Danes totaled five service aces from five different people - Woroniuk, Papageorgiou, Gabriella Karman, Anna Myhal, and freshman Nicole Bell.
• Zosia Szczotkiewicz served as the starting setter with 25 assists.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Braves opened strong with three straight points.
• After two additional three-point runs from Bradley, the Braves took an 11-5 lead.
• A final 10-2 scoring run took the set for Bradley, 25-12.
• The Great Danes tallied the first point of the second set but the Braves quickly earned the advantage with a 10-2 scoring run.
• Bradley took a nine-point advantage, 14-5, after four unanswered points.
• UAlbany worked to close the point gap but it was too much and the Braves took the second set, 25-16.
• The Great Danes continued to fight throughout the third set.
• Starting with a 5-2 scoring run, including the first three points, UAlbany gained the lead quickly.
• After the Braves tied the score at five and the teams traded points, the Great Danes regained a slight advantage with three unanswered points.
• Holding on to the three-point lead, UAlbany was the first to 15 with a 15-12 lead.
• After a five-point run, Bradley took a 19-17 lead. 
• Continuing what proved to be a 9-1 scoring run, the Braves earned a 23-18 advantage.
• Bradley finished the match in three sets with two final points for a 25-20 set win.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will close out the Chippewa Invitational against Saint Louis on Saturday (Sept. 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