CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- A pair of statistical category leaders repeated as weekly award winners for the period ending October 9. The America East leader in kills and aces, Stony Brook senior outside hitter Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview), earned Player of the Week accolades, while the league's assists leader, University at Albany senior setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson), received Setter of the Week honors. Stanley's teammate Samantha Brostrom (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), a freshman outside hitter, picked up the Rookie of the Week award.
Nelson continued her league-leading offensive pace and led Stony Brook in a pair of five-set matches. The senior averaged 4.70 kills, 5.45 points and 2.7 digs per game while adding six aces and three blocks. She notched a double-double in both conference matches last week.
Against UNH on Friday night, Nelson tied a career best with 26 kills to go along with 13 digs and five service aces. She followed up that performance with 21 kills and 14 digs at Hartford on Sunday. Nelson punched six terminations in the fifth set to give the Seawolves the win over the Hawks.
Nelson leads the conference with 4.18 kills and 4.72 points per set, including 4.70 kills and 5.35 points per set against America East opponents.
Brostrom recorded a double-double of 11 kills and 12 digs to lead the Great Danes to a 3-0 America East sweep of Providence in Albany's only match of the week. Brostrom, who also added one service ace and one assist, had just two errors in 17 chances for a .529 hitting percentage, and totaled 12 points for the Great Danes.
Brostrom had a match-high seven kills in the second set, and factored into a run of 10 straight points for the Great Danes in the final set, as she took over the service game with the set tied, 2-2. The run, which included a service ace, gave Albany a 12-2 advantage en route to the victory. The rookie leads all America East freshmen with 2.96 kills per set this season.
Stanley directed the Albany offense in an impressive 3-0 sweep of Providence on Friday evening, totaling 49 assists, averaging 16.33 per set, and eight digs. Thanks to Stanley's setting, Albany hit .466 as a team for the match and five players finished with a hitting percentage of .500 or higher. She also recorded three kills and three service aces, serving two up in a run of seven straight points in the second set.
Stanley continues to improve on her season average of 10.86 assists per set, including 11.87 assists per set in four conference matches. Both marks top America East.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (10-7 overall, 4-0 in America East) remained undefeated in conference play with a three-set sweep of Providence in the team's only match of the week... Freshman Samantha Brostrom (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) was one of four players with double-digit kill totals, finishing with 11 kills and completing a double-double with 12 digs... Junior Traci Vandegrift (Mogadore, Ohio/Field) led the team with 13 points, recording 11 kills and a team-high three blocks... Senior setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) quarterbacked the team to a .466 hitting percentage. She finished with 49 assists, eight digs, three kills and three service aces, individually, while helping four other players reach hitting percentages over .500... Casey Wright (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Dunja Prgomet (Rovinj, Croatia) were the other two players in double-digit kill totals, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively... Wright did not commit an error in 15 chances for a team-high .733 hitting percentage... Albany will continue league play next weekend, visiting Hartford and New Hampshire.
Binghamton (9-12, 1-3 AE) won its lone match of the week in the form of a four-set victory or the visiting Providence Friars... The Bearcats dropped the second set, but went to win the next two to take the contest, 25-19, 22-25, 25-12, 25-22 and earn their first conference victory... Sophomore middle Grace Vickers (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) led the Bearcats with a match-best 17 kills... Freshman setter Amanda Dettmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) quarterbacked the offense to a .254 hitting percentage on her way to a 47-assist night... Binghamton's back line was steady all day led by sophomore libero Xiomara Ortiz (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) who recorded a match-high 20 digs for the Bearcats... Binghamton returns to action on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. as it travels to Durham looking to give New Hampshire its first loss in conference play... The Bearcats round out their weekend road trip with a contest in Hartford on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.
The Hawks (10-11, 1-3 AE) finished a three-match week with a 1-2 overall record, the win being the first in conference play and coming in thrilling fashion in five-sets over UMBC at the Reich Family Pavilion on Friday... Hartford opened the week with a three-set loss to UConn in a non-conference tune-up before the weekend... Junior outside hitter Kami Nethersole (Cortland Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) led the Hawks with 12 kills, the only player in double figures... In the win over UMBC, Nethersole again led the team with 24 kills, while freshman setter Jackie Tamburri (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished with 46 assists and tied her career high with a match-best 22 digs... In the 3-2 loss to Stony Brook on Sunday, Tamburri and Nethersole again led their squad... Nethersole finished with 20 kills, one of four Hawks win double-figure kills, while Tamburri put up 56 assists and again led the team in digs with 17... The Hawks will play two back-to-back home matches next weekend when Albany and Binghamton invade the Reich Family Pavilion... The Great Danes will be the first in town on Friday evening at 6 p.m. with the Bearcats scheduled to visit West Hartford on Sunday for a 2 p.m. start.
The Retrievers (11-9, 1-4 AE) dropped road contests at Hartford (3-2) and UNH (3-1) this weekend to fall to 1-4 in league play... UMBC dropped its third five-set match in its last four outings, falling at America East rival Hartford, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 23-25, 8-15... Senior setter Allie Spaay (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Tremper) recorded her seventh straight double-double with a game-high 49 assists and a team-best 14 digs, while junior Ali Loynachan (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) also notched a double-double of 11 kills and 13 digs... Freshman Dalton Tolliver (Ortonville, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) led the Retrievers with 16 kills... In addition, senior Iman Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) returned to the lineup and hit a team-best .273 with seven kills and five blocks... The Retrievers were two points away from victory at 23-21 in the fourth set before Hartford rattled off the final four points to force a fifth set, which the Hawks led from the start... UNH took Sunday's match, 25-22, 25-13, 17-25, 25-22 and extended UMBC’s losing streak to three straight... Tolliver was the lone Retriever in double figures in kills with 11... Sophomores Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) and Loynachan each contributed a game-high 17 digs... UNH has now won four of the last five matches vs. UMBC... The Retrievers return home to face Providence on Fri., Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. ... The contest is part of the Side Out Foundation’s Dig Pink campaign.
UNH (5-15, 4-0 AE) went 2-0 on the week with a pair of home wins over Stony Brook and UMBC to remain unbeaten in conference play... The Wildcats topped Stony Brook, 3-2, behind double-doubles from both senior Lauren Laquerre (Concord, N.H.) and junior Jansan Falcusan (Plymouth, Mich.). Laquerre posted 16 kills and 18 digs for her eighth double-double of the season and also chipped in with four blocks, while Falcusan racked up a match-high 48 assists and added 14 digs. Senior Amy Keding (Northbrook, Ill.) registered a team-high 21 kills and sophomore Destiny Tolliver (Rochester, Mich.) posted a team-high six blocks. Freshman Sam Henke (Millersville, Md.) led the way with 23 digs... The Wildcats then downed UMBC, 3-1, as Laquerre posted 16 kills and 16 digs for her third double-double in as many matches. In addition to Laquerre, Thatcher also recorded 16 kills for a team-best .353 hitting percentage. Keding registered 10 kills and 12 digs, while junior Falcusan tallied a match-high 41 assists and two aces. Defensively, Tolliver totaled three blocks, while Henke and Schnepp recorded 14 and 12 digs, respectively. The highlight of the match came in the second set when UNH recorded 17 kills without a single attack error for a .472 hitting percentage... In four conference games this season, the Wildcats have recorded a .233 hitting percentage... UNH returns to action next week with home matches against Binghamton and Albany.
The Friars (6-15, 1-3 AE) dropped two matches last week to Albany (3-0) and Binghamton (3-1). However, Providence won it's first set over Binghamton on Sunday, after falling in straight sets to the Bearcats a year ago in Providence's first season of America East play... Senior Lauren Fletcher (Syracuse, N.Y.) led the Friar effort with 2.71 kills per set. She also posted one solo block and assisted on six others during the week.
Stony Brook (9-9, 3-2 AE) split a pair of five-set matches on the road over the weekend, falling to New Hampshire on Friday before knocking off Hartford on Sunday... The Seawolves have gone to five sets in seven of their last eight matches and are 6-3 in five-sets this season... Freshman Laura Hathaway (Warsaw, N.Y.) had a career-high 27 digs against New Hampshire and then equaled that mark against Hartford... Senior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) tied a career-high with 26 kills against New Hampshire in addition to having 13 digs and five service aces. She then had 21 kills including six in the fifth set of the win over Hartford. She also had 14 digs against the Hawks. It was her third straight double-double and sixth in the last seven games... Sophomore Greta Strenger (Woodbury, Minn.) had a career-best 17 kills on a team-high .353 hitting percentage against Hartford... The Seawolves play their final non-conference match of the season on Wednesday at LIU.