Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LOCATION: UniWyo Sports Complex - Laramie, Wyo.
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes are looking ahead after two tough losses in the first day of the UniWyo Invite on Friday.
 
COACH JOSH PICKARD: We had two tough opponents today who were very talented and physical. I was happy to see what we were able to do offensively against two bigger teams. We keep growing in different parts of our game which is good to see.
 
SCORE: Utah 3, UAlbany 1 (25-12, 27-29, 25-14, 25-17)
 
RECORD: UAlbany 3-7, 0-0 AE | Utah 8-1, 0-0 Big 12
 
KEY STATS

• Graduate student Elisavet Papageorgiou and redshirt-junior Shynelle Woroniuk led the Great Danes with 12 kills each.
• Freshman Maria Olga Siapani facilitated 29 assists along with four kills with a .500 hitting percentage.
• Redshirt-sophomore Brooke Malek and Siapani fueled the defense with 15 and 14 kills respectively.
• Junior Tori Wilson led UAlbany with two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The match opened with a back-and-forth exchange with three kills from outside hitter Shynelle Woroniuk that kept it even at 3-3.
• Utah pulled ahead with a 7-1 run to bring the score to 10-4.
• The Great Danes fought back but the Utes' consistency ultimately led to a 25-12 set one win.
• In the second set, UAlbany came out swinging. Key plays from middle blocker Campbell Robinson and setter Maria Olga Siapani helped keep the score neck-and-neck at 5-5.
• UAlbany held a steady lead over the Utes until the Great Danes had a scoring run to put them up, 20-17,
• A late surge gave Utah the lead at 21-20, but the Great Danes weren't finished.
• After trading points, the Purple and Gold emerged with a set two, extra-point win, 29-27.
• UAlbany charged ahead with an impressive 4-0 start in set three with early kills from outside hitter Anna Myhal and opposite hitter Elisavet Papageorgiou.
• A 7-0 scoring run from Utah shifted the momentum and gave the Utes a six-point advantage.
• The Great Danes continued to find the floor with big attacks but ultimately couldn't fend off a late push from Utah and finished the set, 25-17.
• Trading blows at the beginning of the fourth set, Robinson and Papageorgiou combined for crucial points that gave UAlbany a brief lead at 5-4.
• Despite Utah taking the lead, the Great Danes fought back with kills from Papageorgiou and middle blocker Tori Wilson.
• The Utes maintained their advantage until the final score settled at 25-17, which ended the match, 3-1.

SCORE: Wyoming 3, UAlbany 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20)
 
RECORD: UAlbany 3-8, 0-0 AE | Wyoming  8-2, 0-0 Mountain West
 
KEY STATS

• Shynelle Woroniuk led with nine kills and two service aces 
• Tori Wilson followed with eight kills and a .385 hitting percentage.
• Maria Olga Siapani led with 22 assists and went 3-for-3 on the attack.
• Brooke Malek, Siapani, and Woroniuk combined for 19 digs.
• Wilson also tallied four total blocks for the Great Danes' defense.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UAlbany fought hard early in the first set, tying the score at 2-2 while showing resilience with strong blocks and key plays from outside hitter Anna Myhal.
• After a 7-1 scoring run allowed Wyoming to pull away, UAlbany rallied to 20-17 but fell short and lost set one, 25-18.
• Starting at a five-point disadvantage in set three, the Great Danes fought to bring it within one point after a 6-1 scoring run.
• After finding their momentum, UAlbany couldn't capitalize to take the lead. The Great Danes eventually fell, 25-17, ending the match, 3-0.
• The Great Danes tried to keep it close in the second set and cut the score to 9-5 after the Cowgirls pulled ahead with solid plays from Elisavet Papageorgiou and Tori Wilson.
• Despite a scoring run from the Purple and Gold, two additional scoring runs from Wyoming pushed them over the top. The Cowgirls won set two, 25-17.

NEXT: The Great Danes open conference play at Binghamton on Friday, September 27.
 
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