UAlbany Volleyball Edged in Four to UNH
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany dominated game one but fell in the next three in a four-set defeat to New Hampshire (25-15, 23-25, 21-25, 17-25) at home on Friday night.
Two players earned double-doubles for UAlbany (6-14, 4-4 AE): Laini Leindecker had a team-high 12 kills with 15 digs, while Mikala McCauley notched 37 assists and 17 digs. Viktoriia Stroilo had team-highs with 19 digs and three aces, while Amanda Dolan hit .222 with nine kills and seven blocks.
Five players had double-digit kills for New Hampshire (14-11, 7-1 AE), led by Cassidy Croci, who hit .344 with 14 kills and four blocks. Demi Muses hit a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while setter Taylor Dunklau had 49 assists and 13 digs.
UAlbany got an early 3-0 run, started by kills by Dolan and Sofia Furlong, to go up 4-1 in the first set. UNH countered with four-straight, which UAlbany responded with four-in-a-row off Stroilo's serving, with two aces, to lead 8-5. After UNH pulled to within one at 9-8, Tatum Jungsten earned a block to send Lauren Spreen back to serve. Spreen served the team through a 7-0 run, including two more Jungsten kills, to surge the team ahead 16-8. After an exchange of points, Jungsten went back to serve and led the team through another 7-0 run, building the advantage to 23-9. UNH made a late run, but a Dolan kill ended the set for UAlbany 25-15.
A pair of 3-1 spurts for the home team, including two Dolan kills, put UAlbany up 6-2 to start set two. UNH used a couple of 3-0 runs to get back into the set at 10-10, capped by three Croci kills. Dolan notched another kill to spark a 3-0 run to put UAlbany ahead 13-10. Three UNH kills tied the set back up at 13-13. UAlbany used a Furlong kill and two UNH attack errors to go back up 16-14, which was countered by a 3-0 UNH run. Two Amy Hunter kills helped UAlbany go back ahead 19-18, then another 3-0 UNH run made it 21-19 Wildcats. Down 22-20, a Dolan kill and UNH attack error tied it at 22-22, later at 23-23. Kills from Abby Brinkman and Muses ended the set for UNH at 25-23, tying the match at 1-1.
Down 3-1 early, UAlbany used a couple pairs of points on UNH errors to pull to a 7-7 tie, later using another off a Leindecker kill and Dunklau handling error to lead 10-9. At 11-10, UNH got eight of the next points, including three Brenna Buckwalter kills and a block, to go up 18-12. The teams went back and forth until Leindecker earned a kill and served a pair of points to pull UAlbany within three at 22-19. Despite late kills from Dolan and Hunter, UAlbany did not get closer and fell in set three to UNH 25-21 to go behind in the match 2-1.
UNH got an early 3-0 run, capped by a Forrest kill, to start set four. Dolan tallied a couple of blocks to pull UAlbany within one at 4-3. UNH got five of the next six points to go up 9-4. UAlbany went on a 3-0 run, including another Stroilo ace and a Hunter kill, to get close at 9-7. Helped by four kills and a block from Muses, Brinkman served the team through a 6-0 run to put the visitors up 15-7, later 17-8. Kills from Hunter and Leindecker got UAlbany a pair of points, but a 5-0 run by UNH put it up 22-10. At 24-13, UAlbany put together one last run for four in-a-row, but fell 25-17 to fall in the match in four to UNH.
UAlbany will wrap up its home season as the Great Danes host UMass Lowell for Senior Day on Sunday, November 2nd at 2 p.m.
