ALBANY, N.Y. ? By virtue of their 3-1 semifinal victories on Saturday, Albany and UMBC have advanced to the title match of the 2006 America East Volleyball Championship at University Gymnasium. The two will meet on Sunday at 2 p.m. with the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Semifinal Boxscores (PDF)
The host and top-seed Great Danes defeated No. 4 Stony Brook, while the third-ranked Retrievers toppled the defending champs and No. 2 seed Binghamton. Albany is looking for its second title in three seasons, while UMBC is gunning for its first league title as the Retrievers are making their first-ever America East Championship appearance.
Albany swept the season series over the Retrievers as the Great Danes won 3-2 in New York and then 3-0 in Maryland.
Kamisha Kellman had 13 kills and a career-high 12 blocks to lead Albany to a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook in the day’s first semifinal. The Great Danes, who won by scores of 30-12, 30-17, 27-30 and 30-23, advanced to the conference championship match for the second time in the last three years.
After dropping a heart-breaking opening game 32-30, UMBC regrouped by reeling off victories in the next three games (30-22, 30-23 and 30-24) to secure the semifinal win over Binghamton. Angela Anderson paced the Retrievers with a match-high 18 kills.