After winning nine of its last 11 games, the Stony Brook’s volleyball team came up short in its road matchup against Albany. An early set one victory by the Seawolves was all they were able to muster. The Great Danes bounced back from the set one loss to win the next three, clinching their third straight win.
The loss drops Stony Brook’s conference record to an even 3-3 this year. Albany was able to out-duel its conference rivals and extend its win streak to three straight games, despite a nine-game losing streak to begin the season.
Albany attempted a comeback in the first set when Stony Brook led 18-13, scoring 10 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 23-23. But Stony Brook was able to pull away. Sophomore outside hitter Maria Poole dominated the first set with seven kills, one of punctuated the Seawolves’ first and only set victory.
The second set was back and forth early on, but Albany seized control winning 25-21 to even the match at one. Albany senior middle blocker Taylor Robinson scored the set’s final kill on an assist from sophomore setter Kelly Cameron. The sophomore finished the game with a season-high 51 assists and has now had at least 30 assists in each of Albany’s last five games, piling up 196 total assists in that span.
The third set was a nail-biter in which both teams battled out until the final point. Stony Brook led by three points on four different occasions throughout the game, but never held onto its lead to close out a set. After a 17-17 tie, Stony Brook jumped ahead with three consecutive points, followed by a timeout by Albany to regroup.
The crucial timeout, which looked to be the turning point of the entire matchup, sparked life into Albany. The team wasted no time in getting right back into the game, scoring eight of the next 11 points to take a 2-1 advantage over Stony Brook. The set was mostly dominated by the Great Dane freshman outside hitter Tatiana Tiangco, who laid down six of her 15 kills. However, it was freshman middle blocker Danielle Tedesco who delivered the final point of the set to give Albany a 2-1 set lead over Stony Brook.
Stony Brook responded to Albany’s early 3-1 lead in the fourth set by winning seven of the next eight points. Albany used the timeout tactic again to slow Stony Brook’s momentum down, and it seemed to be the game-changer. The Great Danes proceeded to fight back, and even compiled a 6-0 run to put them on top 17-14.
Albany was able to hold onto its lead for the rest of the game, and close out their matchup against Stony Brook. The match point was scored on a service error, sealing the Seawolves’ fate. The two squads will meet again in just under a month at Stony Brook.
Stony Brook will look to bounce back into the win column, as they’ll head to Baltimore to play UMBC on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m..
