LOCATION: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena – Baltimore, Md.
SCORE:Â UAlbany 3, UMBC 1 (25-14, 14-25, 25-20, 25-15)
RECORD:Â UAlbany 10-9, 3-2 America East | UMBC 6-10, 3-2 America East
SHORT STORY:Â The UAlbany volleyball team continued its strong stretch of America East play with a four-set win over UMBC on Saturday afternoon.
COACH JOSH PICKARD:Â "Fantastic showing for the Great Danes on the road. We served the ball well, and that turned into a great blocking and defensive afternoon. We blocked 3.5 a set and were able to hit over .300, which those numbers in a match, any team is hard to beat."
KEY STATS
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Graduate opposite Kendall Harris led UAlbany with 11 kills on .458 hitting, adding 7 digs and 3 blocks.
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Graduate outside hitter Shynelle Woroniuk tallied 15 kills, 15 digs, and 1 ace.
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Redshirt-junior middle blocker Gabriella Karman hit .308 with 6 kills and 10 blocks.
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Sophomore setter Maria Olga Siapani posted 36 assists, 13 digs, and 5 blocks.
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Sophomore defensive specialist Kasia Barletta anchored the back row with 6 digs and added an ace.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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UAlbany came out strong in the opening set, hitting .600 with 15 kills on 25 swings.
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Maria Olga Siapani spread the ball around efficiently as Kendall Harris and Shynelle Woroniuk each posted multiple early kills.Â
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The Great Danes led wire-to-wire to take the frame 25-14.
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UMBC answered in the second, capitalizing on UAlbany errors to even the match 25-14.
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The Great Danes regained control in the third behind a dominant blocking performance.
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Gabriella Karman and Harris combined for three rejections in the set, while Anna Myhal and Woroniuk delivered key kills down the stretch for a 25-20 win.
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UAlbany carried that momentum into the fourth, racing out to a 10-5 lead with kills from Tori Wilson and Harris.Â
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Kasia Barletta's serving and Siapani's front-row presence helped close out the 25-15 victory to seal the match.
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NEXT:Â The Great Danes return home next week to take on New Hampshire in their Black Out game on Friday, October 24 at 6:00 PM and Bryant for Spooky Sunday on October 26 at 3:00 PM.