CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- All three of this week's America East volleyball award winners are repeat honorees, includng University at Albany senior outside hitter Teresa Coppiellie (Canton, Mich./Salem) who picked up her fourth Player of the Week award today. University of Hartford outside hitter Dionna Kirton (Everett, Wash./King's) captured the league's top rookie award for the third time, and University of New Hampshire senior Sara Heldman (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) is also a three-time recipient of the Setter of the Week accolade.
Coppiellie captures the award for the second straight week. With UMBC threatening to take the Great Danes' place atop the league standings, Coppiellie led Albany to a 3-1 win over the Retrievers on Sunday. The senior recorded her league-leading 12th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 14 digs. Coppiellie also finished with four total blocks, including one of the solo variety, and two service aces to go along with a .245 hitting percentage for the match. With 5.38 points per set, she was second among league leaders last week. Coppiellie is now averaging 3.35 kills and 3.30 digs per set and hitting .215 this season to rank among America East leaders in all three categories.
Kirton, a three-time recipient of the league's Rookie of the Week award, averaged 3.00 kills and 2.22 digs per set last week while hitting at .227. She also added two blocks and an ace in two matches. Kirton began the week with a 20-kill, 15-dig performance against Providence in a tense 3-2 victory. The effort was her eighth double-double of the season, good for sixth among all conference players this season. Kirton hit .312 and added both of her blocks against the Friars. The rookie rounded out her week with a seven-kill, five-dig outing in a 3-1 loss to New Hampshire. She added an assist and an ace against the Wildcats.
Heldman averaged 10.14 assists and 3.29 digs per set last week for the Wildcats. She also finished the week with four kills, three aces, one block and an overall team hitting percentage of .200. Heldman completed two double-doubles with a 30-assist, 12-dig night at Stony Brook on Friday, and then 41 assists and 11 digs at Hartford the next day. Heldman, a repeat winner of the award, ranks third this season in the conference with 8.99 assists per set after a season in which she played libero and scored America East Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2009.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (16-7 overall record, 6-2 America East record) regained sole possession of first place in the conference standings with a 3-1 win over UMBC in the only match of the week on Sunday... Senior outside hitter Teresa Coppiellie (Canton, Mich./Salem) led the Great Danes with her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with a match-high 17 kills and 14 digs... Setter Abbey Wexel (Virginia Beach, Va./Frank W. Cox) also recorded a double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills, one block and one service ace... Sophomore Traci Vandegrift (Mogadore, Ohio/Field) also finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 18 digs to go along with four block assists... Libero Laurie Gonzalez (Carolina, Puerto Rico/St. Francis School) recorded a match-high 23 digs... The Great Danes finished with 11 service aces in the match... Albany will visit New Hampshire and Providence over the weekend in conference play. l Albany vs. UMBC Highlights l
Binghamton University (10-13, 5-3 AE) dropped its only match of the week to UMBC in straight sets... Binghamton was ineffective offensively against a stingy UMBC defense... UMBC out-blocked the Bearcats, 10-4, and hit .480 in the final set to drop Binghamton out of first place in the conference... The first set was competitive as Binghamton used a 6-1 run to tie the set at 15, forcing UMBC to call a timeout... The two teams went back and forth down the stretch as the opening frame witnessed six late ties... Binghamton was able to even the set at 24 but dropped the final two points to give UMBC the one-set-to-none advantage... The next two sets were not nearly as interesting as the first, as UMBC's defense stopped any chance of a Binghamton comeback... UMBC took the final two sets, 25-17 and 25-15... Senior captain Michelle McDonought (Orlando Hills, Ill./Andrew) tallied 10 kills and nine digs for the Bearcats while junior setter Julie Chambers (Nichols, N.Y./Tioga) dished out 25 assists while picking up seven digs... Up next for Binghamton is a road trip to Providence, R.I. next Friday, Nov. 5 to take on the Friars... First serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Hawks (8-18, 3-6 AE) split a pair of conference matches over the weekend, winning a thrilling five-set match that required an extra 10 points to decide a winner and dropping a three-set match to the New Hampshire Wildcats... For the week, freshman outside hitter Dionna Kirton (Everett, Wash./King's) led the team with 27 kills, including a career-high 20 kills against the Friars on Friday night ... She finished that match with her second-highest hitting percentage of the season with a .312 effort... Over the two matches, junior Michelle Cordell (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater) led the Hawks in hitting percentage with a .341 effort, totaling 22 kills and eight errors in 41 total swings... Senior setter Lindsay Ford (Carson, Nev./Carson) did an impressive job of spreading the Hawks offense throughout the weekend, with four players recording double-figure kills in Friday's win over Providence... She finished the week with 96 assists, including her third 60 or more assist match of the season with 61 against Providence... The Hawks will play a single conference match this week, welcoming the UMBC Retrievers to West Hartford for their longest road trip of the season... Hartford and UMBC will meet on Friday at 6 p.m... The Hawks will honor their lone senior, Ford, prior to the match.
UMBC (9-14, 5-3 AE) split a pair of road America East contests last week, defeating Binghamton, 3-0, on Friday before falling to Albany, 3-1, on Sunday… Senior Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) led the Retrievers, tallying two double-doubles to bring her total to 11 on the season… She led UMBC last week with 24 kills (3.43 kps) and 27 digs (3.86 dps) and now leads the team with 241 kills (3.01 kps) and 42 service aces (0.52 aps) on the season… Junior setter Allie Spaay (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Tremper) directs the offense with 9.34 assists per set after earning 57 assists (8.14 aps) and 22 digs (3.14 dps) last week… Freshman Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) continues to lead the team in digs with 291 (3.68 dps), while junior Iman Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) had a career-high 10 total blocks against Binghamton and now has 89 (1.13) for the season… The Retrievers return to action next weekend when they travel to Hartford Friday at 6 p.m. and Stony Brook Sunday at 1 p.m.
UNH (9-15, 4-5 AE) split a pair of road matches at Stony Brook and Hartford... In a 3-0 loss at Stony Brook, Sara Heldman (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) racked up 30 assists and 12 digs and Lauren Laquerre (Concord, N.H./Concord) had a match-high-tying 15 kills and a .306 kill percentage, while Jayde Huxtable (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) led New Hampshire with 13 digs... In a 3-1 win at Hartford, Laquerre registered a team-high 22 kills and 11 digs. Laquerre hit at a .425 clip with two blocks... In addition to Laquerre, Amy Keding (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) tallied 14 kills and nine digs and a pair of blocks... Heldman registered a double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs... Huxtable chipped in with a career-high 14 digs, while Justine Elliott (Mitchellville, Md./St. John's College) had eight blocks... The 'Cats will play host to Albany (Friday 7 p.m.) and will play its final home match of the season on Sunday (1 p.m.)... Sunday's match will be the final one at Lundholm Gym for senior tri-captains Heldman, Huxtable and Elliott.
The Providence College volleyball team (10-20, 2-7 AE) dropped both its matches on the week… On Friday, October 29, the Friars dropped a five-set heartbreaker at Hartford, with the race to 15 points in the final frame extending all the way to a 21-19 final score… The Friars were led by a pair of 17-kill performances, as junior MB Lauren Fletcher (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) and freshman Emily Hall (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) each hit that mark… It was a career high for Hall, who also added nine digs…Junior S Carly Morrison (Larkspur, Calif./Redwood) recorded a season-high 55 assists in the match, while also recording three blocks and 11 digs… Junior OH Lauren Hendel (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) picked up a double-double against the Hawks, with 12 kills and 12 digs… Sophomore libero Cassie Muzzonigro (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) led the Friars with 16 digs… On Sunday, October 31, the Friars fell in straight-sets to Stony Brook… Fletcher again led the way, this time with 13 kills… Morrison had another solid match, collecting 21 assists to go with four service aces and three kills… For the week, Morrison averaged 9.50 assists per set… The setter also averaged an even 1.00 kill per set and 1.12 digs per set for the week… The Friars return to the court at home for the final time this week as they host Binghamton and Albany… The match with the Bearcats will start at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s match against the Great Danes will begin at 5 p.m.
The Seawolves (10-15, 5-4 AE) swept New Hampshire and Providence over the weekend and have won three of their last four matches... Junior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) tallied a match-best 15 kills in the win over New Hampshire and then had a match-high 14 kills in the victory over Providence... She averaged 4.83 kills per set for the weekend... The Seawolves hit .393 in the set one victory over New Hampshire... Stony Brook held New Hampshire to a .147 hitting percentage and Providence to a .193 hitting percentage... The Seawolves have held their opponents under a .200 hitting percentage in their last four matches... Stony Brook then hit .343 in the win over Providence... It matched its second-highest hitting percentage this season... Freshman Evann Slaughter had a combined 15 kills in the two matches this weekend... She had eight kills on a .727 hitting percentage on Sunday... She hit .556 for the weekend... Senior Jeanette Gibbs had 14 digs against New Hampshire... It was her seventh-straight match with double-digit digs... Stony Brook plays its final home match on Sunday against UMBC... The Seawolves will honor their two seniors-Gibbs and Ashley Headen (Alexandria, Va.)- prior to the match.