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Albany Falls To #21 Florida State In NCAAs

Albany Falls To #21 Florida State In NCAAs

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Courtesy of Albany Athletic Media Relations

Tallahassee, Fla. - Jekaterina Stepanova recorded a match-high 16 kills to lead #21 Florida State to a 3-0 win over UAlbany in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Friday Evening at Tully Gym. The Seminoles defeated the Great Danes for the second time this season, posting set scores of 25-15, 25-11, 25-23.

                Florida State jumped out to a 5-0 advantage early in the first set, prompting UAlbany to take the first timeout. The Great Danes scored their first point on a block by Traci Vandegrift and Gabby Whitworth, but the Seminoles continued to roll, building up an 8-2 advantage.  With Whitworth behind the service line, a block by Casey Wright and Dunja Prgomet spurred the Great Danes into action, as they climbed back to within 8-5. However, Florida State was able to take advantage of three straight UAlbany attack errors, and a kill by Stepanova gave the Seminoles a 13-5 lead.

                Later in the first set, Stepanova smacked back-to-back kills to put Florida State up, 21-12, but the Great Danes used a Progmet kill and a Seminole attack error to close the gap to within 23-15. Florida State got to set point on a kill by Rachael Morgan, one of her three in the set, and closed it out with a kill by Duygu Duzceler to take a 1-0 match lead.

                The Seminoles started the second set much like the first, building up a 5-0 lead before committing an attack error to give UAlbany its first point. The Great Danes pulled within 9-6 on a kill by Wright, her fifth of the match, but Morgan served for three straight points to give Florida State a 12-6 advantage.  The Seminoles built up a 17-9 advantage on consecutive UAlbany attack errors, and the Great Danes took a time out to regroup. Florida State would not let down, and scored eight of the next 10 points to take the set and head to the break with a 2-0 lead in the match.

                UAlbany took an early 3-1 lead in the third set on a kill and a block by Wright. The Great Danes regained their confidence and built up a 7-4 advantage on a dump kill by Brooke Stanley and a long kill by Samantha Brostrom. However, three kills by Visnja Djurdjevic, along with a UAlbany attack error, gave Florida State an 8-7 lead.  With Brostrom behind the service line, the Great Danes tied the set at 9-9 on a kill and block. The Seminoles used their height advantage to hold onto a slight lead, but UAlbany continued to battle, staying within 15-13 on a kill by Brostrom.

                Florida State took a four-point advantage on back-to-back kills by Stepanova and Marija Milosavljevic, forcing the Great Danes to use their second timeout of the set. UAlbany climbed back to within 21-17 on consecutive Seminole attack errors, and closed the gap to three points on a service ace by four-time America East Defensive Player of the Year Laurie Gonzalez. Strong serving by Gonzalez, combined with kills from Prgomet and Vandegrift pulled the Great Danes within a point, 21-20. UAlbany hung tough, getting a kill by Wright after the Seminoles got to set point, but Stepanova smashed her 16th kill of the match down the middle to give Florida State the win.

                Wright led UAlbany with 11 kills on .450 hitting, while Stanley finished just short of a double-double, totaling 30 assists and nine digs. Gonzalez recorded a team-best 12 digs, while the Great Danes posted four total blocks on the Seminoles, while Florida State totaled two.

                Djurdjevic recorded a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs for Florida State (x-x), which advance to the second round of the tournament, taking on Cincinnati for a berth to the Sweet Sixteen. Katie Mosher led all players with 17 digs, while setters Sarah Wickstrom and Duzceler finished with 21 and 16 assists, respectively.

                UAlbany finishes the 2011 season with a 21-9 record overall.

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