LOCATION: Savage Arena – Toledo, Ohio

SHORT STORY: The Great Danes opened the 2025 season with a sweep of Saint Francis before battling host Toledo in a hard-fought three-set contest.

COACH JOSH PICKARD: "Very excited to get out and compete today. The first match was a great team effort and we really executed on the things that we have been training this preseason. The second match we struggled a bit on our ball control but I was very happy with how the team responded and pushed the home team. We made some changes in the lineup and our players really responded. We have one more chance to get better tomorrow against a talented team."

GAME ONE

SCORE: UAlbany 3, Saint Francis 0 (25-21, 25-18, 28-26)

RECORD: UAlbany 1-0, 0-0 AE | Saint Francis 0-1, 0-0 NEC

KEY STATS

• Graduate outside hitter Shynelle Woroniuk led UAlbany with 8 kills

• Sophomore setter Maria Olga Siapani boasted 23 assists

• Leading the Great Danes' defense was senior middle blocker Tori Wilson with 9 blocks

• Graduate opposite Kendall Harris added 6 kills and 4 blocks

• Redshirt-junior middle blocker Gabriella Karman contributed with 6 kills and 2 service aces

• Redshirt-junior defensive specialist/libero Brooke Malek anchored the back row with 14 digs and 3 aces

• Senior outside hitter Anna Myhal chipped in 8 kills and 2 aces

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UAlbany started strong in the first set by building an 11-7 lead behind two different scoring runs.

• Saint Francis attempted a comeback and closed the gap to 17-15 after a scoring burst of their own.

• The Great Danes responded with a 4-0 run behind Malek's serving and secured the set, 25-21.

• The Great Danes took control in the second set and jumped out to a 10-6 advantage after a Siapani ace.

• Kiki Provatas added a service ace as the lead grew to 14-11 before Karman's late ace pushed the Danes to set point.

• UAlbany capitalized on errors by Saint Francis to finish the set, 25-18.

• The third set was tightly contested with 13 ties and 8 lead changes. UAlbany built a 19-13 lead before Saint Francis rallied to take a 24-23 edge.

• The Danes answered with kills from Wilson and Woroniuk to regain control. A Myhal/Wilson block earned match point, and Woroniuk sealed the sweep with her final kill for a 28-26 win.
   

GAME TWO

SCORE: Toledo 3, UAlbany 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-20)

RECORD: UAlbany 1-1, 0-0 AE | Toledo 1-0, 0-0 MAC

KEY STATS

• Graduate opposite Kendall Harris led UAlbany with 6 kills on .455 hitting.

• Redshirt-junior middle blocker Gabriella Karman added 7 kills at a .286 clip and tallied 2 blocks.

• Graduate outside hitter Shynelle Woroniuk finished with 4 kills and 3 digs.

• Sophomore setter Maria Olga Siapani directed the offense with 17 assists and added 5 digs.

• Redshirt-junior Brooke Malek led the defense with 14 digs

• Senior outside hitter Anna Myhal contributed 2 kills and 1 ace

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UAlbany matched Toledo point-for-point early in the first set, staying within 16-14 after kills from Woroniuk and Harris. 

• The Rockets pulled away late, taking the set 25-18.

• The second set saw the Great Danes continue to battle with points from Karman and Myhal. 

• Malek's steady defense kept rallies alive, but Toledo used a mid-set surge to secure the frame, 25-13.

• UAlbany saved its best push for the third set, staying close at 20-18 behind kills from Harris and Karman. 

• The Purple and Gold cut the deficit to 23-20 before the Rockets closed out the match, 25-20.
   

NEXT: The Great Danes finish out the Rocket Invitational in Toledo, Ohio, against Robert Morris tomorrow at 2:30 PM.

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