ALBANY, N.Y. - The
2012 America East Volleyball Championship title game is set, as No. 1 seed and
host University at Albany and No. 2 seed Binghamton University advanced to the
final with wins in the semifinal round on Friday at University Gym.
The second seeded Bearcats came from behind to beat No. 3
UMBC in five sets in the first contest, while Albany beat No. 4 New Hampshire
in straight sets.
It is the fourth overall appearance in the America East
title game for the Bearcats, while Albany will be playing in its
seventh-straight final. It is also the third time the Great Danes and Bearcats
will meet in the final, with the two squads splitting the first two matchups.
The 2012 America East Volleyball title game will be streamed
live for free beginning at 6:55 p.m. on Saturday, November 17 from University
at Albany's University Gym.
Binghamton 3, UMBC 2
(16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 15-9)
Box
Score
Binghamton won nine-straight points after falling behind 9-6
in the fifth set to come from behind to beat UMBC in the first America East
Volleyball Championship semifinal.
The Bearcats were actually outhit in the match by the
Retriever .245 to .237, but Binghamton played outstanding fourth and fifth sets
to dig out of a two-games-to-one hole. The Bearcats hit .324 in the fourth set
and .318 in the decisive fifth set.
The match-up featured Co-Setters of the Year in UMBC's
Mallory McIntyre and Binghamton's Amanda Dettmann. McIntyre finished with 47
assists and seven digs, while Dettmann had 48 assists, nine digs and five
kills.
Iva Partaleva led the Bearcats with 21 kills, while Grace
Vickers added 17 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Xiomara Ortiz had a
match-high 24 digs.
UMBC came out strong, winning the first set 25-15 with a
.312 hitting percentage while holding the Bearcats to .097. The Retrievers got
off to a 9-1 start in the set with a pair of freshmen in Sherelle Walker and
Krystal Mlemchukwu doing the damage. Walker finished the match with a team-high
16 kills and a .361 hitting percentage, while Mlemchukwu added 15 kills.
Binghamton took the second set, holding on, 25-20, after
going on an eight-point tear with the set knotted at five. Kristin Hovie had
three kills during the run.
After the Retrievers won the third set, 25-20, the teams
battled back-and-forth in the fourth frame. With the set even at 18, Hovie and
Partaleva combined to finish of six of the final nine points to win the game
25-20 and send the match to a decisive fifth set. Alex Roland led the Bearcats
with five kills in the set.
UMBC once again got off to a quick start in the fifth, scoring
six of the first seven points before a timeout was called by Binghamton head
coach Glenn Kiriyama, the America East Coach of the Year. The Bearcats came out
of the timeout going on a 5-1 run of their own to climb within one point at 7-6
after three kills by Vickers.
Mlemchukwu responded with two-straight kills for the
Retrievers to give the No. 3 seed a 9-6 lead.
The Bearcats answered by closing the match with
nine-straight points, all served by Alexandra Warner who had two aces in the
span. Vickers added three more kills to help close out the match.
It was the fourth time the two teams had matched up in the
championship, with UMBC winning two of the first three meetings.
Albany 3, New
Hampshire 0
(25-23, 25-15, 25-14)
Box
Score
Two-time defending America East champions Albany swept No. 4
seed New Hampshire in the second semifinal at University Gym on Friday night to
advance to its seventh-straight final and eighth in the last nine years.
Dunja Prgomet recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 11
digs, while America East Player of the Year Sara Pope added 11 kills. Viktoriia
Stroilo, the America East Defensive Specialist of the Year, led the Great Dane
defense with 18 digs.
Freshman Abby Brinkman paced New Hampshire with 10 kills
while Sam Henke had 19 digs.
Neither team led by more than three points in the first and
was tied as late as 23-23. Albany closed the set on an ace and a kill by Traci
Vandergrift to go up 1-0 in the match. Prgomet led Albany with six kills in the
set, while Gabby Whitworth had 12 assists.
After the second set was tied at 11, Albany closed the set
by scoring 14 of the final 18 points. Vandergift and Prgomet came up big,
combing for eight of Albany's final 14 points.
The Great Danes kept their foot on the gas to start the
third set, staking themselves to a 13-2 lead. Albany was helped by five New
Hampshire attack errors during that stretch. New Hampshire was only able to get
as close as 10 points, and all-rookie team member Tatum Jungsten finished the
match with a kill on an assist by Whitworth.
Whitworth finished with 37 assists, helping Albany to a .235
hitting percentage. New Hampshire was held to just .071 hitting percentage.
Albany will meet Binghamton at 7 p.m. at University Gym in
the 2012 America East Volleyball title game. It will be streamed live for free
on AmericaEast.com.