Bruce Dudek/UAlbany Athletics

Women's Volleyball 8/29/2024 1:37:00 PM

Women's Volleyball Opens Season at FGCU

ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany women's volleyball team is set to open the 2024 season on the road with a tournament hosted by FGCU.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Classic
SITE: Alico Arena - Fort Myers, Fla.
TICKETS: FGCUAthletics.com
RECORDS:
   UAlbany 0-0, 0-0 America East
   NDSU 0-0, 0-0 The Summit League
   UIC 0-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley
   FGCU 0-0, 0-0 ASUN

NDSU vs. UAlbany
DATE: Friday, August 30
TIME: 11:00 AM
SERIES RECORD: 0-0, first meeting
STATS: StatBroadcast

UIC vs. UAlbany
DATE: Friday, August 30
TIME: 4:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, UIC leads
STATS: StatBroadcast

UAlbany at FGCU
DATE: Saturday, August 31
TIME: 11:00 AM
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, UAlbany leads
STREAM: ESPN+
STATS: StatBroadcast

*records as of 8.29

BUILDING ON GREATNESS

The Great Danes welcome six newcomers with eleven returning student-athletes.
Senior Zosia Szczotkiewicz returns after being named the America East Setter of the Year and America East Second Team All-Conference.
Junior Anna Myhal and graduate student Elisavet Papageorgiou both return after having been the only Great Danes to start all 25 matches in 2023.
Redshirt-junior Shynelle Woroniuk and Sthefany Carvalho add valuable experience as team leaders in points and digs as an outside hitter and the team's libero, respectively.
Among the newcomers is mid-year transfer Dora Filipovic who joined the team after two successful seasons in the NJCAA.
UAlbany added five freshmen: Maria Olga Siapani, Kiki Provatas, Kasia Barletta, Nia Gibson, and Sabrina Kinkaid.

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

The UAlbany coaching staff is constantly at work to represent different cultures and countries on their roster each year.
The 2024 roster traveled a total of 43,861 miles from their homes to UAlbany.
Eight different countries and five different states within the USA are included on the 17-person roster.
- United States
  - New York: Kasia Barletta, Sabrina Kinkaid
  - Texas: Tori Wilson, Kendall Harris
  - Maryland: Nia Gibson
  - Florida: Gabriella Karman, Kiki Provatas
  - Ohio: Campbell Robinson
- Canada: Brooke Malek, Shynelle Woroniuk
- Poland: Emilia Kuzniar, Zosia Szczotkiewicz
- Brazil: Sthefany Carvalho
- Greece: Elisavet Papageorgiou
- Ukraine: Anna Myhal
- Cyprus: Maria Olga Siapani
- Croatia: Dora FIlipovic

ABOUT NDSU

The Bison finished the 2023 season 18-11 overall with a 9-7 record in the Summit League.
NDSU was able to gain an 8-3 record before beginning conference play.
The Bison finished fifth in a nine-team conference to advance to the Summit League Championship Tournament.
NDSU took down South Dakota in the first round of the league tournament but fell to Kansas City in the second round.

SERIES AGAINST THE BISON

This will be the first time UAlbany faces NDSU.

ABOUT UIC

The Flames finished the 2023 season, 21-12.
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, UIC went 11-7 in conference play.
After starting the season 7-2 with three tournaments under their belt, the Flames went into league action with a 9-5 record.
UIC finished third in a 12-team conference and was eliminated by Drake in the semifinals of the MVC Championship Tournament.

SERIES AGAINST THE FLAMES

UAlbany and UIC have met just once before during the DePaul Invitational in 2016.
Under the direction of MJ Engstrom, the Great Danes fought to win set two against the undefeated Flames to tie the match at one but fell to UIC in four sets.

ABOUT FGCU

The Eagles went 26-7 overall during the 2023 season.
After starting 15-0 in conference play, they lost their last regular season game to Jacksonville before winning the ASUN Volleyball Championship.
The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament after earning an automatic bid but fell to No. 4 Florida in the first round.

SERIES AGAINST THE EAGLES

UAlbany and FGCU have met just once before.
The Eagles hosted a tournament in 2018 in which they took a 2-0 lead against the Great Danes before UAlbany came back to win the next three sets and win the match.

AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

Friday
- Merrimack at Binghamton, 10 am
- New Hampshire at LSU, 11 am
- UAlbany vs NDSU, 11 am
- NJIT at Syracuse, 11 am
- Bryant at Florida Atlantic, 12 pm
- NJIT vs Canisius, 2 pm
- UMBC vs UC Davis, 3 pm
- Bryant vs Ball St., 4 pm
- UAlbany vs UIC, 4 pm
- New Hampshire vs Troy, 6 pm
- Toledo at Binghamton, 7 pm
Saturday
- NJIT vs Lafayette, 11 am
- UAlbany at FGCU, 11 am
- Bryant vs Seton Hall, 11 am
- New Hampshire vs Maryland, 1 pm
- Bucknell at Binghamton, 1:30 pm
- NJIT vs LeMoyne, 5 pm
- UMBC at Purdue, 7 pm
Sunday
- UMBC vs Kansas State, 11:30 am

UP NEXT
At the conclusion of the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Classic, the Great Danes will head home to host the UAlbany Invitational (Sept. 6-7) for their first home matches in the newly renovated PE Gym.

Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany volleyball by following the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Shynelle Woroniuk: OH; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#22 Brooke Malek: DS/L; 5' 7"; Freshman

#7 Anna Myhal: OH; 5' 11"; Freshman

#20 Zosia Szczotkiewicz: S; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#8 Sthefany Carvalho: DS/L; 5' 6"; Senior

#22 Kendall Harris: OPP; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Gabriella Karman: MB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#16 Emilia Kuzniar: S; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#17 Elisavet Papageorgiou: OPP; 6' 0"; Graduate Student

#14 Campbell Robinson: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#12 Tori Wilson: MB; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Maria Olga Siapani: S; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Shynelle Woroniuk
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: OH

#22 Brooke Malek
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: DS/L

#7 Anna Myhal
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: OH

#20 Zosia Szczotkiewicz
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: S

#8 Sthefany Carvalho
: 5' 6"; Senior
: DS/L

#22 Kendall Harris
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior
: OPP

#3 Gabriella Karman
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: MB

#16 Emilia Kuzniar
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: S

#17 Elisavet Papageorgiou
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student
: OPP

#14 Campbell Robinson
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#12 Tori Wilson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MB

#1 Maria Olga Siapani
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: S