CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The UAlbany Classic Most Valuable Player senior middle blocker Kamisha Kellam (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) earned America East Volleyball Player of the Week for the week ending September 7. Kellam, along with America East Setter of the Week Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson), helped University at Albany win the tournament title. UMBC outside hitter Alyssa Lang (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) earned her second Rookie of the Week already this season as she also had a hand in her team's successful weekend of tournament play. View complete weekly release in PDF.
Kellam averaged 3.00 kills per set to lead the Great Danes to an undefeated weekend at the UAlbany Classic. The senior middle blocker, who was named the tournament's MVP, recorded nine kills in a 3-0 win over Buffalo, added 10 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Wright State and finished with eight kills in a 3-0 win over previously-unbeaten Connecticut. Kellam, who hit for .449 over the weekend, the third-best mark in the league last week, also finished with eight total blocks (0.89 bps) and recorded three digs. She currently leads the America East in blocks (1.26 bps) and is second in hitting percentage (.402). This is Kellam's first weekly award of the season.
Lang continued her outstanding freshman campaign by winning back-to-back rookie of the week awards to open the season. Last week she led the Retrievers with 48 kills (3.0 kps) and was second on the team with 39 digs (2.44 dps). Lang recorded her third double-double of the season in a victory over previously-unbeaten Duquesne Saturday night, earning 11 kills and 14 digs. She recorded 14 kills each against Niagara and UMES on Friday. Against Howard on Tuesday, she added nine kills against only three errors and a team-high eight digs. Lang is averaging 2.93 kills per set for the season, the top number for an America East rookie in 2008.
Stanley led the conference in assists last week, averaging 10.78 per set to go along with 2.33 digs and 0.78 blocks per set helping lead the Great Danes to an undefeated weekend at the UAlbany Classic. The sophomore setter recorded 31 assists to go along with eight digs, one block and one kill against Buffalo and then tallied a double-double against Wright State with 33 assists and 10 digs. Stanley also recorded four kills, two blocks, and a .800 hitting percentage in the match. In the weekend finale against Connecticut, she dished out 33 assists, and posted four blocks and three digs. Stanley twice won the same award last season as a rookie.
America East volleyball went 10-12 in nonconference play last week, including matches against opponents from the BIG EAST, Big Ten, ACC and Atlantic-10 conferences.
Team Notebooks:
UAlbany
(3-3, 0-0 America East) kicked of the 2008 home slate, hosting the UAlbany Classic over the
weekend... The Great Danes were undefeated in three matches, sweeping Buffalo, Wright State and Connecticut
all by scores of 3-0... UAlbany handed UConn its first loss of the season with
a win in the tournament finale on Saturday... Senior middle blocker Kamisha Kellam
(Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) averaged 3.00 kills per
set to lead the Great Danes to an undefeated weekend at the UAlbany Classic.
The senior middle blocker, who was named the tournament MVP, recorded nine
kills against Buffalo, added ten kills versus Wright State
and finished with eight kills against Connecticut...
Kellam, who hit .449 for the weekend, also finished with eight total blocks and
recorded three digs... Freshman outside hitter Kalyn Mostert (Nepean, Ontario/Marivale)
averaged 1.67 kills, 1.11 digs and 0.67 blocks per set over the weekend... She
recorded six kills, two digs, two total blocks and an ace versus Buffalo, and tallied another six kills, two digs and one
ace in the sweep of Wright
State... The rookie wrapped
up the weekend with three kills, six digs, four total blocks and three service
aces against Connecticut...
Sophomore Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville,
N.C./West Henderson)
averaged 10.78 assists to go along with 2.33 digs and 0.78 blocks per set...
She recorded 31 assists to go along with eight digs, one block and one kill
versus Buffalo...
She finished with a double-double against Wright State,
tallying 33 assists and ten digs along with four kills and two blocks, while
hitting .800 for the match... In the weekend finale against Connecticut, she recorded 33 assists, four
blocks and three digs... Sophomore outside hitters Valerie Sourbeer (Valley Center, Calif./Valley
Center) and Amanda Cowdrey (Brampton,
Ontario/Caridnal Leger) were also
named to the all-tournament team.
Binghamton (3-3, 0-0 America East) posted a 1-2 record at the Pitt Classic this past weekend. Binghamton was
swept by both Ohio (22-25, 20-25, 8-25) and Pittsburgh (16-25, 23-25, 21-25) on
Friday before defeating Eastern Kentucky 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-14) on Saturday
... Sophomore
setter Lindsey Mueller (West Bend Wis./West Bend West) was named to the
all-tournament team, as she posted 3.11 digs and 7.78 assists per set on the
weekend. On the season Mueller ranks second on the team in digs per set (2.67) while
also leading the team in assists (9.94/s). Mueller also achieved her first
double-double of the year with an 18-assist, 12-dig performance against
Pittsburgh ... Sophomore hitter Anna
Lejina (Riga, Latvia/Riga Secondary/U. of Latvia) led the team in kills
on the weekend (2.56/s) while classmate Michelle
McDonough (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew) was right behind her at a 2.33
average. Lejina posted a match-high 10 kills in the Eastern Kentucky match ...Binghamton out hit Eastern Kentucky .348 to .035 to earn
the sweep ...The Bearcats will return to action this week on Tuesday at Syracuse and then will head to the University of Virginia
Tournament this weekend, Sept. 12-13. The squad
will face Appalachian St on Friday and both Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth
on Saturday.
The
Hawks (1-5, 0-0 America East) dropped three matches at the 2008 Sacred Heart Invitational
this past weekend. Hartford fell to Rider (16-25, 14-25, 17-25) in three sets
on Friday night and then dropped a three-set match to Bryant (22-25, 20-25,
18-25) and a four-set match to the host Pioneers (21-25, 25-19, 18-25, 20-25)
on Saturday. Juniors Hallie Fullagar
(Mesa, AZ/Mountain View) and Erin Macro
(Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) led the Hawks for the tournament. Macro finished with 28
total kills to lead the team, while Fullagar hit .159 (26 kills, 15 errors, 69
total attacks) to lead the team. Macro finished with a .151 hitting percentage
(14 E, 93 TA) for the three matches. Also finishing with double digit kills on
the weekend was junior Maddison Molyneux
(Caledon, Ontario/Mayfield Secondary) with 12 and freshman Michelle Cordelle (Orlando, FL/Edgewater) with 14. Sophomore Lindsay Ford (Carson, NV/Carson) led
the Hawks with 69 total assists, while junior Sarah Boss (Fremont, NH/Pinkerton Academy) led the Hawks defense
with 36 digs. Macro and Cordell led the team in blocking with five blocks each,
Cordell being credited with three solo blocks. Hartford will play its first
home match of the season at the Reich Family Pavilion on Tuesday night when
they welcome the Quinnipiac Bobcats for a 6 p.m. start.
Maine
(4-3, 0-0 America East) won two of three games this weekend while hosting
Providence College (4-4), Quinnipiac (1-6) and Kent St. (5-1) in the University
of Maine Tournament... Maine beat Providence College 3-2 (25-18, 25-19, 24-26,
23-25, 15-3) in their opening match of the tournament... Maine was led by Lindsay
Allman with 15 kills and nine digs... Jessica Wolfenden finished with 47 assists,
seven kills and six digs in the win...
Laura Goettsch and Ashlee Wright each had 13 digs... In Maine’s second match of
the tournament they swept Quinnipiac (25-10, 25-10, 25-17)... The Black Bears
never lost control as Wolfenden set her teammates up with 28 assists... The Maine
defense was led by Allman with four total blocks, she had three of Maine’s
seven solo blocks... Brittany Kiehl led Maine with eight kills... Allman, Wolfenden
and Goettsch each had two served aces, accounting for six of Maine’s eight in
the match... The Black Bears finished the match with a .314 attack percentage...
Maine fell in the final match of the tournament to Kent State in four sets
(13-25, 25-11, 19-25, 22-25)... Maine’s was led by its lone freshman Samantha
Andreozzi with 11 kills... Allman had 10 kills and 15 digs... Wolfenden had 32
assists and eight digs... Goettsch had eight kills and 15 digs... The Black Bears’
Allman and Wolfenden were named to the All-Tournament Team... Maine travels to
Buffalo this weekend to take part in the University of Buffalo Tournament.
UMBC (5-2, 0-0
America East) finished the week 3-1, including 2-1 in the UMBC Tournament held
in Baltimore, Md. The Retrievers earned victories over Howard (3-0) and Niagara
(3-1) before falling to UMES (2-3). UMBC finished off the week with an
impressive win over previously unbeaten Duquesne (3-1)... Junior Kira Giles
(Winnipeg, Canada/Glenlawn) was named the tournament MVP, recording her third
and fourth double-doubles of the week, including 49 assists and digs in the win
over the Dukes... Sophomore Bridget Scheetz (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) was
named to the All-Tournament Team, hitting .571 against Duquesne and recording
an outstanding 10 assisted blocks. Scheetz led the Retrievers with 19 assisted
blocks for the week with freshmen Sarah Hill (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) and
Sarah Joy (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/Brookfield) each adding 15... Freshman Alyssa
Lang (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) continued her impressive rookie campaign, leading
the team with 48 kills and was second on the team with 39 digs. Lang recorded
her third double-double of the season, earning 11 kills and 14 digs... The
Retrievers play host to Villanova on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. before
traveling to Newark, N.J. to play in the NJIT Highlanders Challenge where they
will face Loyola, Sacred Heart, and host NJIT.
New Hampshire (0-6, 0-0 America
East) went 0-3 over the weekend at the Delaware Invitational... The Wildcats gave
the host Fightin’ Blue Hens all they could handle on Friday night, but it was
Delaware that earned the 3-2 win (15-25, 25-21, 25-15, 19-25, 15-9)... On Saturday, the
Wildcats dropped the opening match of the day to eventual champion Michigan
State... UNH gave the Spartans some of its best competition of the weekend as the
Wildcats were the only team to take a set in three matches... However, Michigan
State earned the 3-1 win (25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23)... Despite all three sets being extremely close,
Syracuse took the final match of the weekend in straight-sets (25-23, 25-23,
25-21) for UNH... Junior Kirsten Bates (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Caroll) was once
again a bright spot for the Wildcats... Earning All-Tournament status for the
second-straight week, Bates had 50 kills over the
three matches (16.67 kpm - 4.16 kpg), including recording match-highs for kills
in all three matches... Perhaps the best performance of the weekend was Bates’
.684 attack percentage against Syracuse. She tallied 14 kills with just one
error... Bates was also the team leader in digs in two of three matches with 32
digs... The Wildcats will play the home opener Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. against
Bryant and will play host to Seton Hall, Evansville and Rhode Island in the
Holly Young Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12-13... The tournament,
which is a long-standing tradition at UNH, was renamed this off-season to honor
the memory of Holly Young... In January, Young, a former member of the volleyball
program, lost her battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer... The
Wildcats will play Rhode Island at 7 p.m. Friday night, Evansville at 12:30
p.m. Saturday and will conclude its part of the tournament with Seton Hall at 7
p.m. in the second annual “Dig for the Cure” event.
Stony Brook (2-4, 0-0 America East) went 0-3
over the weekend at the Art Carmichael Invitational... The Seawolves were led
offensively by senior Gulce Nazli Dikecligil’s (Istanbul, Turkey) 33 kills and
freshman Kelsey Sullivan’s (Hamilton, Va.) 54 assists...Dikecligil also led the
Seawolves in digs with 31 (3.88 per set)... Sophomore Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley,
Minn.) also had a strong weekend for Stony Brook, averaging 3.50 kills per set...The
Seawolves' best chance at a win this weekend was a tough 3-2 loss to Boston
College, in which Stony Brook held a two sets to one lead...Stony Brook will host
their home opener on Tuesday against Manhattan College before traveling to
Fordham to play in the Rose Hill Classic.