CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Three volleyball players take home weekly conference honors after America East volleyball teams finished up the first full conference weekend of the 2011 season. Stony Brook University senior outside hitter Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) is the America East Player of the Week, UMBC freshman middle blocker Dalton Tolliver (Ortonville, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) is the Rookie of the Week, and University at Albany senior setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) is the recipient of the Setter of the Week award for the third time this season. All awards cover the period ending October 2
Nelson led all America East players last week with 5.50 kills and 6.44 points per set and five aces. She also chipped in 1.88 digs per set, four blocks and a .275 hitting percentage to lead Stony Brook in two conference matches last weekend.
Nelson matched a career high with 26 kills in a 3-2 victory over Binghamton on Sunday, adding 12 digs, five aces and four blocks to finish the match with a double-double. On Friday night, the senior recorded 18 kills on a .350 hitting percentage and three digs in a three-set match against Albany.
A first-team all-conference honoree last season, Nelson leads the league this year with 4.11 kills and 4.61 points per set. She also ranks sixth hitting at a .265 clip overall in 2011.
Tolliver led the Retrievers last week with 28 kills in two America East matches while hitting with a .323 efficiency. For the week, she averaged 3.50 kills and 4.06 points per set to go along with six blocks and an ace.
Tolliver started the weekend off tying her career high of 16 kills against Binghamton, notching eight kills and zero errors in 10 total attacks in the first set. She finished the match hitting .500 and with four block assists. In the five-set thriller against Albany on Sunday, Tolliver totaled 12 kills, two blocks, a dig and an ace. The freshman is now averaging 2.1 kills per set on the year.
Stanley quarterbacked Albany to a .262 team hitting percentage last week, a league high, while averaging a conference-best 11.0 assists per set. The senior also averaged 1.88 digs and 1.00 kills per set in the two-win week for the Great Danes.
In a three-set victory over Stony Brook, Stanley dished out 41 assists for a 13.66 assists per set average. She added seven digs, two kills and a block as Albany hit .333 as a team.
In a come-from-behind road win against UMBC, Stanley finished with 47 assists, eight digs, six kills and a block assist. Albany hit .220 for the match and improved to 3-0 in conference play with the victory.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (9-7 overall, 3-0 America East) posted a 2-0 ledger over the weekend in conference play, sweeping Stony Brook, 3-0, on Friday before recording a 3-2 comeback win at UMBC on Sunday... Senior middle blocker Casey Wright (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) led the Great Danes, averaging 3.62 kills, while hitting .455 on the week... Freshman outside hitter Samantha Brostrom (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) continued her strong play for Albany, averaging 2.75 kills and 1.62 digs... Brostrom recorded her third double-double of the season versus UMBC, totaling 14 kills and 10 digs... Senior setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) averaged 11.00 assists per set to quarterback Albany to an undefeated week... Against the Retrievers on Sunday, Stanley totaled 47 assists, eight digs, six kills and one block assist... Laurie Gonzalez (Carolina, Puerto Rico/St. Francis School) continues to lead the Albany defense, as she averaged 5.00 digs and served up two aces on the weekend... Junior Traci Vandegrift (Mogadore, Ohio/Field) added 2.38 kills per set, and led the team with eight total blocks... Albany will return to action on Friday for the only match of the week, hosting Providence at 7 p.m.
Binghamton (8-12, 0-3 AE) lost both of its matches last week, falling to UMBC and Stony Brook during a weekend road trip... The Bearcats lost to UMBC in straight sets then dropped a heart breaker against Stony Brook in five... Binghamton was unable to generate any offense against a stout UMBC defense as freshman setter Amanda Dettmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) led the Bearcats with 21 assists, six kills and four digs... In a back-and-forth affair the Bearcats and Seawolves battled to a fifth set... Binghamton forced a deciding frame after winning the fourth set, 26-24... Stony Brook quickly took command of the fifth set and never looked back handing Binghamton its worse start to conference play since joining the America East in 2001... Junior Alex Roland (Austin, Tex./Austin) racked up a team-high 17 kills, while three other Bearcats joined her with double-digit kills... Dettmann had a 50-assist effort, her third of the season... Binghamton returns home Sunday, Oct. 9 to host Providence at 1 p.m.
For the second time in two conference matches, the Hawks (9-9, 0-2 AE) went to five sets with their opposition, falling by a 3-2 score to New Hampshire last week and Providence in the only match this past week... After dropping the first set, the Hawks picked up two-straight victories to take a 2-1 lead, but Providence battled back to force a fifth set and then came back from an 11-7 deficit to win the match... Junior Kami Nethersole (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) led four players in double figures with 17 kills... Sareeta Nethersole (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hduson) and Lindsay Anderson (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) finished with 12 kills and Dionna Kirton (Everett, Wash./King's) rounded out the lead hitters with 11... Freshman setter Jackie Tamburri (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished with her team-leading 12th double-double of the season with 47 assists and 19 digs, leading the team in both categories. Tamburri also finished with six kills, while hitting into just one error for a .417 hitting percentage... The Hawks will play three matches in the week ahead, the first on the road and the next two beginning a four-match homestand at the Reich Family Pavilion... The first match of the week will be an in-state match-up at Connecticut on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
UMBC (11-7, 1-2 AE) split a pair of home matches this weekend against Binghamton and Albany... The Retrievers defeated Binghamton, 3-0, making it four consecutive wins over the Bearcats, while falling to Albany, 3-2, and dropping its tenth straight match to the Great Danes... UMBC freshman middle blocker Dalton Tolliver (Ortonville, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) tied a season high with 16 kills in the victory over the Bearcats. Tolliver hit .500 for the match and added four assisted blocks... Senior setter Allie Spaay (Kenosha, Wisc./Kenosha Tremper) posted a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs... UMBC hit .304 for the match, compared to .073 for the Bearcats... The Retrievers outblocked their guests, 14-2, with junior middle blocker Katie Kelly (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) tying a team and personal season-high with nine assisted blocks... The Retrievers built a 2-0 lead, but America East defending league champion Albany rallied for a 3-2 league victory on Sunday... UMBC was bolstered by the play of sophomore Emily Vandegrift (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) who amassed a match-high 16 kills and hit .286 in five sets... Both teams had 59 kills on the day- Albany hit .220 for the match, while UMBC was at .188... UMBC will compete on the road for the first time in league play this weekend when it visits Hartford (Oct. 7) and New Hampshire (Oct. 9).
UNH (3-15, 2-0 AE) improved to 2-0 in America East Conference play this season with a 3-1 victory over Providence in the team's lone match of the week... Seniors Lauren Laquerre (Concord, N.H.) and Amy Keding (Northbrook, Ill.) both recorded double-doubles. Laquerre registered 14 kills and a team-high 14 digs, while Keding racked up a match-high 15 kills for a .263 attack percentage to go along with 11 digs... Sophomore Morgan Thatcher (Brockton, Mass.) also reached the double-digit mark with 13 kills and added a match-high six blocks... Junior Jansan Falcusan (Plymouth, Mich.) posted a match-high 42 assists for her third-straight match with at least 40 helpers... As a team, the Wildcats had a .237 hitting percentage, headlined by a fourth set win to close out the Friars. In that set, the Wildcats posted 19 kills for a .342 hitting percentage... In conference play, the Wildcats average 13 kills per set and 11.89 assists per set... The Wildcats return home for five straight home matches, including two this week when they host Stony Brook on Oct. 7 and UMBC on Oct. 9.
Providence College (6-13, 1-1 AE) went 1-2 last week with a non-conference loss (0-3) at Rhode Island, a loss to New Hampshire (1-3) in Friday's conference opener, and a victory against Hartford (3-2) on Sunday... The Friars captured their second win over the Hawks since joining the league last season... Senior middle blocker Lauren Fletcher (Syracuse, N.Y.) registered 43 of her teams' 107 kills on 90 total attacks - making just eight errors - during the two America East matches. She posted a hitting percentage of .389 and recorded 4.78 kills per set. She also registered 1.67 blocks per set, including eight solo blocks and seven block assists. Fletcher recorded all eight of her solo blocks in the victory over Hartford to go along with five block assists... Senior setter Carly Morrison (Larkspur, Calif./Redwood) helped the Friars to a 1-1 mark in America East play last week, having recorded 80 assists, good for 8.89 assists per set. Forty-seven of her 80 assists came during the five-set victory over Hartford on October 2. In that match, she helped deliver the victory by finding two players for double-digit kills and kept with the hot hand of Fletcher, giving her an opportunity to hit for .481 and claim the win.
Stony Brook (8-8, 2-1 AE) split a pair of home matches over the weekend... The Seawolves were swept by Albany on Friday before beating Binghamton in five sets on Sunday... The Seawolves have won five of their last six matches. All of the victories have come in five sets. SBU is 5-2 in five set matches this season... Senior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) tied a career high with 26 kills against Binghamton... Senior Jennifer Cunningham (Little Neck, N.Y.) had career-high 18 digs and freshman Laura Hathaway (Warsaw, N.Y.) led SBU with 21 digs... Nelson added 12 digs and has seven double-doubles this season including four in her last five matches... On Friday against Albany, Nelson hit .350, her second-highest attack percentage this season and had 18 kills... Senior Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.) had 46 assists to go along with 10 digs and six block assists in the win over Binghamton. She also guided the Seawolves to a .316 hitting percentage in the fifth set... Stony Brook will now hit the road for three straight matches.