UAlbany Earns Important 3-0 Road Win Over Rival Stony Brook
Box Score
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Facing an in-state rival with a very loud, band-driven crowd, UAlbany battled Stony Brook in a back-and-forth match to earn a three-set victory (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) on Friday night.
“This week, we focused on not paying attention to the crowd noise and focusing on our game,” says coach MJ Engstrom. “We were more prepared to play in a hostile venue then we have been this year.”
Samantha Brostrom hit .433 with 15 kills and just two attack errors, her best attack percentage this season, adding nine digs in the match.
“It is great that we won the match in that environment,” says Brostrom. “We were down a number of times against a tough team, but we executed well and took control.”
In a match where UAlbany trailed by four points in the final two sets, Amy Hunter earned a career-high 12 kills on the day.
“We did not dwell on mistakes,” says Hunter. “We just focused on the next point, and we got the big kill when we needed it.”
“What I am most happy about is that we played tough at the end of sets,” adds Engstrom. “The last two we had to comeback, and we stayed focused and aggressive.”
After falling in the first point, UAlbany (6-16, 6-3 AE) took five of the next six, including a kill and block from Brostrom, to take an early 5-2 lead. At 8-5 UAlbany, Stony Brook (12-14, 6-3 AE) got five straight, started by two Hannah Dolan kills, for a 10-8 advantage. After a timeout, kills from Hunter and Brostrom helped UAlbany tie the set at 11. Stony Brook got back the lead with a 3-0 run. Down 16-14, a Brostrom kill and ace, followed by a Hunter kill, completed a 3-0 run to put UAlbany back in front 17-16. Stony Brook got a kill, then Hunter put UAlbany back in the lead with a hard hit to the back row, followed by a Tatum Jungsten ace for a 19-17 advantage. At 19-18, three kills in a row, two by Amanda Dolan, and a Stony Brook attack error completed a 4-0 run to go up 23-19. UAlbany took the set 25-20 to go up in the match.
Down early 4-1, a couple of Sofia Furlong points and a Mikala McCauley dump kill helped UAlbany tie the second set at five. The teams went back and forth until at 8-8, Stony Brook took the next three to push ahead 11-8. A UAlbany timeout led to a Hunter kill to stop the run. The Great Danes got to within two a couple of times, but Stony Brook took an 18-14 lead. Behind 20-17, Amanda Dolan used a couple of kills to pull the Great Danes within one at 21-20, causing Stony Brook to call timeout. After a Stony Brook blocking error, Brostrom crushed two kills in a row to give UAlbany back the lead 23-21. Stony Brook tied it up at 23. UAlbany earned a sideout with a Furlong kill, then a Brostrom kill sealed the game 25-23 to put the Great Danes up 2-0 in the match.
A couple of blocks and a Viktoriia Stroilo service ace helped UAlbany get a 5-3 lead to begin set three. The home team countered with a 5-0 run to go up 8-5, later leading 10-6 to induce a UAlbany timeout. At 12-8, Hunter sparked UAlbany to get five out of six points to tie up the set at 13-13. Stony Brook pushed back to go up 17-14, which was countered by a 4-0 run on four consecutive kills by four different UAlbany players for a 18-17 Great Danes advantage. The Seawolves went back in front as the teams exchanged points until 20-19, when UAlbany used a Jungsten kill and block on a 3-0 run for a 22-20 lead. After an attack error, a Hunter kill and Stony Brook attack error set up match point for UAlbany. Stony Brook earned a pair of points to make it 24-23. After Engstrom called timeout, Hunter nailed the ball through the outside block to win it for the Great Danes 25-23, ending the match in a 3-0 win for UAlbany.
Stroilo led the defensive effort for UAlbany, digging out 19 balls to lead all players tonight. Lauren Spreen had 11 in the back row.
“Vik and Lauren made critical digs when we needed them in the match,” says Engstrom of her two main defensive players. “The whole team did a great job holding Stony Brook to hitting .172 as a team.”
For Stony Brook, Kaitlin Costello had a double double with 13 kills and 10 digs, as did Melissa Rigo with 11 kills and 10 digs.
UAlbany will fly south to Baltimore for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday against UMBC at the RAC Arena to finish its road trip.
