ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany volleyball team is set to play their first matches in the newly renovated PE Gym.
 
Welcoming three teams - Central Michigan, Iona, and FDU - the Purple and Gold are set to hold six matches across two days as part of the UAlbany Invitational (Sept. 6-7).
 
On Saturday, the Great Danes will host a BLACK OUT. All fans should wear their favorite black items to help black out the gym against FDU.
 
Parking is free in the Broadview Lot. Concessions will be available during select games. Click here for more information about the invitational.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
 
SITE: PE Gym - Albany, N.Y.
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: AE.TV
 
RECORDS: 
     UAlbany 1-2, 0-0 AE
     Central Michigan 3-0, 0-0 MAC
     Iona 0-3, 0-0 MAAC
     FDU 1-2, 0-0 NEC
 
Central Michigan at UAlbany
DATE: Friday, September 6
TIME: 11:30 AM
SERIES RECORD: 1-0, Central Michigan leads
 
Iona at UAlbany
DATE: Friday, September 6
TIME: 7:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 6-2, UAlbany leads
 
FDU at UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, September 7
TIME: 2:00 PM
SERIES RECORD: 2-0, FDU leads
 
*records as of 9.2
 
For more information, including a full schedule and individual video links, click here.
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany started the season strong with a three-set sweep over NDSU (Aug. 30).
• Falling to UIC (Aug. 30) and FGCU (Aug. 31) in four and three sets, respectively, the Great Danes fought back to win set three against the Flames and consistently improved against the Eagles.
• Leading UAlbany's offense throughout the weekend, redshirt-junior Shynelle Woroniuk,  led with 3.70 kills per set and was named to the All-Tournament team.
• Redshirt-junior Kendall Harris led with a .229 hitting percentage.
• On defense, senior Sthefany Carvalho held a tournament-high 4.20 digs per set.
• In her collegiate debut, freshman Maria Olga Siapani led the team with four service aces and had a whopping 85 assists - another tournament high for the Great Danes.
• Aiding in the defense, redshirt-sophomore Gabriella Karman led UAlbany with six blocks.

 
BUILDING ON GREATNESS

• The Great Danes welcome six newcomers with eleven returning student-athletes. 
• Senior Zosia Szczotkiewicz returns after being named the America East Setter of the Year and America East Second Team All-Conference.
• Junior Anna Myhal and graduate student Elisavet Papageorgiou both return after having been the only Great Danes to start all 25 matches in 2023. 
• Redshirt-junior Shynelle Woroniuk and Sthefany Carvalho add valuable experience as team leaders in points and digs as an outside hitter and the team's libero, respectively.
• Among the newcomers is mid-year transfer Dora Filipovic who joined the team after two successful seasons in the NJCAA.
• UAlbany added five freshmen: Maria Olga Siapani, Kiki Provatas, Kasia Barletta, Nia Gibson, and Sabrina Kinkaid.

 
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

• The UAlbany coaching staff is constantly at work to represent different cultures and countries on their roster each year.
• The 2024 roster traveled a total of 43,861 miles from their homes to UAlbany.
• Eight different countries and five different states within the USA are included on the 17-person roster.
  • United States
    • New York: Kasia Barletta, Sabrina Kinkaid
    • Texas: Tori Wilson, Kendall Harris
    • Maryland: Nia Gibson
    • Florida: Gabriella Karman, Kiki Provatas
    • Ohio: Campbell Robinson
  • Canada: Brooke Malek, Shynelle Woroniuk
  • Poland: Emilia Kuzniar, Zosia Szczotkiewicz
  • Brazil: Sthefany Carvalho
  • Greece: Elisavet Papageorgiou
  • Ukraine: Anna Myhal
  • Cyprus: Maria Olga Siapani
  • Croatia: Dora Filipovic

 
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN

• The Chippewas opened the season at the Linda Herman Classic hosted by Illinois State.
• CMU left as tournament champions after defeating Lindenwood (Aug. 30), 3-2, Illinois State (Aug. 30), 3-1, and Bellarmine (Aug. 31), 3-0.
• Natalia Rejment leads the team with 3.17 kills per set and a .352 hitting percentage.
• Hannah Langton holds a team-high 5.33 digs per set as a freshman defensive specialist.
• Grace Thomas tops the team with 19 blocks.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE CHIPPEWAS

• UAlbany and Central Michigan met for the first time last season at CMU's Chippewa Invitational.
• The Chippewas took a three-set victory, earning their first win of the season against the Great Danes.

 
ABOUT IONA

• The Gaels are 0-3 on the season after starting at the Boston College Invitational.
• Iona fell in three sets in each of the three matches against Eastern Kentucky (Aug. 30), Texas Tech (Aug. 31), and the host, Boston College (Aug. 31).
• Kenzie Wiggins leads with 2.50 kills per set while Ava DeGuzman and Rose Porter lead on defense with 2.33 digs per set each.
• Taylor Timko owns a team-high seven blocks for the Gaels.
• Six different players for Iona each have one service ace under their belt.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE GAELS

• This is the first time in eight years that the Gaels and the Great Danes will go head to head. UAlbany leads the eight-game series, 6-2.
• During their last matchup in 2016, UAlbany came back after losing the first set to win three sets in a row and gain the victory at the Yale Invitational (Sept. 2-3).

 
ABOUT FDU

• The Knights are 1-2 after an opening weekend at Temple Invitational.
• Earning a victory over Radford (Aug. 30), FDU fell to Temple (Aug. 31) and Rider (Aug. 31).
• Eleonora Tosi leads the team with 3.17 kills per set and a .315 hitting percentage. 
• Emily Van O'Linda has a team-high with 4.50 digs per set.
• Avery Bain leads with eight total blocks.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE KNIGHTS

• This is UAlbany's first time seeing FDU in a match since 1999 when they met at the Colgate Invitational and the Seahawk Classic.
• FDU took three-set victories at both meetings between the Knights and the Great Danes. FDU leads the series, 2-0.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Tuesday 
  • NJIT vs. Saint Peter's, 6 PM
• Wednesday
  • Bryant vs. Stonehill, 7 PM
  • Binghamton at Villanova, 7 PM
• Friday
  • UAlbany vs. Central Michigan, 11:30 AM
  • NJIT vs. Kent State, 12 PM
  • Binghamton at CCSU, 3 PM
  • UMBC vs. Bowling Green, 3 PM
  • New Hampshire vs. Merrimack, 4 PM
  • Bryant vs. Rhode Island, 4 PM
  • UAlbany vs. Iona, 7 PM
• Saturday
  • New Hampshire vs. Stonehill, 10 AM
  • Bryant vs. Brown, 1 PM
  • Binghamton at Fairfield, 1:30 PM
  • UAlbany vs. FDU, 2 PM
  • NJIT at Seton Hall, 3 PM
  • Binghamton vs Boston College, 6 PM
  • UMBC vs. Wright State, 6 PM
  • Bryant vs. Providence College, 7 PM
  • New Hampshire at Harvard, 7 PM
• Sunday
  • UMBC at Dayton, 12 PM
  • NJIT vs. Sacred Heart, 1 PM

 
UP NEXT: At the conclusion of the UAlbany Invitational, the Great Danes will be heading to Connecticut for the UConn Classic.
 
Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany volleyball by following the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.