CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University at Albany's Amanda Cowdrey (Brampton, Ontario/Cardinal Leger) was tabbed the America East volleyball player of the week for the period ending October 19. Teammate Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) captured her second consecutive setter of the week honor, while UMBC's Alyssa Lang (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) is now one shy of tying the America East record for most rookie of the week awards with this week's citation from the conference office. View complete weekly release here in PDF.
Cowdrey averaged 5.00 kills and 3.17 digs per set in two three-set wins last week. The sophomore outside hitter recorded 15 kills and eight digs in a 3-0 win over Siena on Wednesday and tallied 15 kills and 11 digs in a 3-0 sweep of conference foe Binghamton on Friday. Cowdrey hit .481 against Siena while also recording one service ace in the match. She also recorded a .424 hitting percentage versus Binghamton, adding one solo block. She hit .450 for the week, which was fourth in the league behind only three of her teammates. Cowdrey, one of just four players to see action in every set this season for Albany, is averaging a team-leading 3.49 kills per set and is second on the team with 2.79 digs per set. This is the first weekly honor for last season's Rookie of the Year.
Lang continues to impress, winning her sixth weekly rookie honor of the season. Last week she tied for the team lead with five service aces and was second on the team with 21 digs (2.62 dps). Against Towson, Lang was used mainly in the back row and recorded 10 digs with four service aces. Playing all-around against Binghamton, the freshman recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs, while adding two assisted blocks. For the season, Lang is in the America East top ten in kills, service aces and digs, and leads all freshmen in the former two categories.
Stanley captures the award for the second straight week as she continued her strong play and led Albany to two wins over the week. She averaged 14.00 assists and 2.50 digs per set on the week. Stanley recorded 41 assists to go along with five digs, two kills, one service ace and one block assist in a 3-0 sweep of crosstown-rival Siena on Wednesday. Against Binghamton on Friday, Stanley reached the 40-assist plateau for the 10th time this season, handing out 43 assists to go along with 10 digs, three kills and one service ace. The top four hitting percentages around the league last week were Great Danes as Stanley led an effective and balanced attack. For the season, the sophomore setter leads America East with 10.45 assists per set and is third on the team with 2.30 digs per set.
Two unbeatens in conference play fell last weekend, leaving the Great Danes with the only unblemished America East record (5-0) in the league. Three conference matches get under way Friday evening before the second half of the conference schedule begins on Sunday with three more matches. Each team will play the other six squads twice, home and away, by the end of the season.
Team notebooks:
Albany
(13-8 overall record, 5-0 in America East) remained undefeated in conference play, defeating Binghamton, 3-0, at home
on Friday... The Great Danes also posted a 3-0 win over crosstown-rival Siena on Wednesday in a
“Dig Pink” match at University Gymnasium... Sophomore outside hitter Amanda
Cowdrey (Brampton, Ontario/Cardinal Leger) averaged 5.00 kills
and 3.16 digs per set for the week... She recorded 15 kills and eight digs
against Siena and added 15 kills and 11 digs
versus Binghamton...
Cowdrey, one of just four players to see action in every set this season, is
averaging a team-leading 3.49 kills per set and is second on the team with 2.79
digs per set... Freshman outside hitter Kalyn Mostert (Nepean, Ontario/Marivale)
averaged 2.33 kills per set last week... She recorded seven kills, hitting .500
for the match against Siena,
adding three digs and two block assists... Mostert then tallied seven kills with
a .600 hitting percentage, four assists, two blocks and one dig against Binghamton... She is
averaging 1.44 kills and 1.65 digs per set on the season and is third on the
team with 52 total blocks... Sophomore setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville,
N.C./West Henderson)
averaged 14.00 assists and 2.50 digs per set in the two matches... She recorded
41 assists to go along with five digs, two kills, one service ace and one block
against Siena... Stanley then reached the 40-assist
plateau for the 10th
time this season, handing out 43 assists to go along with 10 digs, three kills
and one service ace versus Binghamton...
She is averaging 10.45 assists per set on the season and is third on the team
with 2.30 digs per set... Stanley
leads the Great Danes with 26 service aces... In the “Dig Pink” match against Siena, The Great Danes
raised over $3,700 that will go towards research organizations that specialize
in molecular profiling and targeted therapies, as well as organizations that
support cancer patients during treatment.
Binghamton (10-12, 5-1 America
East) lost
to Albany 3-0 before
defeating UMBC 3-1 this weekend. Sophomore Anna
Lejina (Riga, Latvia/Riga
Secondary/U. of Latvia) posted
12 kills and sophomore hitter Michelle
McDonough (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew)
scooped up 13 digs while contributing six kills in the match against Albany. Against UMBC,
McDonough notched 21 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the
season. Senior Ashley Allen (Mill Creek, Wash./HM
Jackson) recorded 14 kills and two blocks and Lejina
added 11 kills in the contest. Sophomore setter Lindsey
Mueller (West Bend,
Wis./West Bend West) finished with match-highs in assists (48) and digs (17). Junior
middle Dawn Lammert (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) also
contributed five blocks in the match. The
Bearcats will be off until October 28, when they return to action at Cornell.
The Hartford
volleyball team (5-18 overall, 0-5 America East) dropped two conference matches over the
weekend, the first at New Hampshire in three sets the second at Maine in four
sets. For the week, the Hawks were led by Erin
Macro (Lincoln, RI) and Hallie
Fullagar (Mesa, AZ) who finished with 21 and 20 kills respectively.
Fullagar led the team in hitting percentage with a .200 attack percentage with
10 errors in 50 total attacks. Also adding double digit kills on the week was
freshman Lindsay Makowicki (Norwich,
CT). Lindsay Ford (Carson, NV)
led the Hawks with 51 assists over the two matches, while Danielle Etta led the defense with 17 digs, one of three players to
record double digit digs. Joining her was Fullagar with 11 and Sarah Boss (Fremont, NH) with 10. Michelle Cordell led the Hawks on the
block with five total, including four against Maine on Sunday. The Hawks will
play two matches in the coming week, both against the Stony Brook Seawolves.
The teams will meet in Stony Brook, NY on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and then
battle in West Hartford on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Maine (9-10, 2-3 America East) enjoyed some home cooking as they got
two much needed conference wins over visiting Stony Brook (9-14, 0-5 AE) and
Hartford (5-18, 05 AE) this weekend... In the match against Stony Brook, the
Black Bears stumbled out of the gate, dropping the first set 18-25... Maine
bounced back to take the second set 25-18 before falling again in the third
22-25... With their backs against the wall, the Black Bears took the fourth set
25-21 and the fifth set 16-14 to secure their first conference win of the
season... Lindsay Allman (St. Louis, Mo.) had match-highs of 18 kills, 18 digs
and three served aces.... Jessica Wolfenden (Ottawa, Ont.) had 46 assists and 11
digs to set up a Maine attack that finished with a .282 hitting percentage...
Laura Goettsch (Woodstock, Ont.) and Amy Lawson (Coeur D’Alene, Idaho) also
reached double-digit kills in the match, scoring 12 and 10 respectively... With
their first America East win behind them, Maine had a renewed sense of
confidence, but suffered an18-25 loss in the first set to Hartford... The Black
Bears responded by reeling off three straight wins by scores of 25-13, 25-12
and 25-17 to seal the match... Allman had
match-highs of 14 kills and 14 digs... Lawson tallied 12 kills and five total
blocks... Wolfenden had 30 assists, 11 digs and five block assists... Ashlee Wright
(Muncie, Ind.) added five served aces and four digs... Maine is tied in America
East for fourth with rival New Hampshire who they will take on in a
home-and-home series this weekend, starting at 5 pm in Orono on Friday night.
UMBC (15-7, 4-1
America East) split two matches this past week, defeating local rival Towson in
four sets on Wednesday before dropping a four-set decision to Binghamton Sunday
afternoon... Sophomore Bridget Scheetz (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) led the
Retrievers hitting .333 for the week with 22 kills, while adding eight total
blocks and five service aces. With her four assisted blocks against Binghamton,
Scheetz is now fourth on the all-time list at UMBC with 193 for her career and
her 81 this year is the seventh most in Retriever history... Freshman Alyssa Lang
(Richmond, Va./Deep Run) continued her outstanding freshman campaign this past
week, tying for the team lead with five service aces and was second on the team
with 21 digs (2.62 dps). Against Towson, Lang was used mainly in the back row
and earned 10 digs with four service aces. Playing all-around against
Binghamton, the freshman recorded her sixth double-double of the season 14 kills
and 11 digs, while adding two assisted blocks... Junior Ashley Oscars
(Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) earned her third double-double of the season
against the Bearcats with 14 kills and 13 digs. Oscars currently has 926 kills
for her career, ninth most in Retriever history... UMBC returns to action this
weekend for a home-and-home series with Albany. The Retrievers are home on
Friday at 7 p.m. before playing at the Great Danes on Sunday at 2 p.m.
New Hampshire (5-16, 2-3 America East) went a perfect 2-0 sweeping
matches from conference foes Hartford on Saturday and Stony Brook on
Sunday... Both matches were at the friendly confines of Lundholm
Gymnasium where the Wildcats own a 4-4 record compared to just 1-12 on the
road... The set scores on Saturday against Hartford were 25-17, 25-16, 25-17,
while the scores on Sunday against the Seawolves were 25-23, 25-21, 25-21... On
Saturday, Kirsten Bates (Calgary, Alberta/ Bishop Carroll) paced the offense
with 13 kills, while Kate Uitti (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) had match-high 34
assists... On Sunday, the Wildcats gave the over-sized crowd at its
ninth-annual "Pack the Arena" day plenty to cheer about as they swept
past Stony Brook... The win was the first over the Seawolves since 2005...
Bates once again led the way with 15 kills, while Alyse Lahti (Pepper Pike, Ohio) was the defensive leader with 10 digs... Lahti, who
leads the league in digs, moved into second on the UNH all-time digs
list... The junior libero has 1,253 digs moving past Alyson Coler
(1,231 - 2000-03) and inching closer to the program's leader Jen
Williams(1,398 - 2001-04)... The Wildcats look to continue their
recent success against America East competition with a weekend home-and-home
series against Maine... UNH will travel to Orono on Friday (5 p.m.) and play
host to the Black Bears on Sunday (1 p.m.).
Stony Brook (9-14,
0-5 America East) dropped both of its conference matches this weekend, losing to Maine, 3-2
(25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 21-25, 14-16), and New Hampshire, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21,
25-21)... Senior Gulce Nazli Dikecligil had another great statistical week for
the Seawolves, averaging 4.12 kills/set and 0.62 aces/set... Junior Michelle
Burrola had a superb defensive week, posting a 4.12 digs/set average, including
a season-high 24 against Maine... The Seawolves will be looking to pick up their
first conference victories this weekend when they host Hartford on Friday and
then face the Hawks on the road on Sunday.