DURHAM, N.H. - The top-seeded New Hampshire volleyball team defeated No. 4 Albany 3-1 in the semifinal round of the 2003 America East Championship on Friday night at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, N.H. The Wildcats advance to the final where they will host No. 3 Northeastern on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Alyson Coler, the 2003 America East Player of the Year, was the catalyst of the New Hampshire offense as she tallied 19 kills with 17 digs. Teammate Anne Davis also recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 17 digs. For Albany, Eileen Nicole Rodriguez had 10 kills, 17 digs and seven service aces, while Ashlee Reed tallied 13 kills and 10 digs.
New Hampshire came out strong in front of a home crowd of 526 as the Wildcats quickly took a 4-1 lead over the Great Danes. UNH kept applying the pressure to Albany as it used a 4-0 run to take a 19-12 lead and later led by a match-high eight points, 24-16. The Wildcats also finished strong as they closed out the game on a 5-2 run to win 30-22. Coler tallied seven kills on 11 attacks with just one error as she posted a game-high hitting percentage of .545.
Albany evened things up in a dramatic second game as it downed UNH 31-29. New Hampshire led by a game-high six points, 12-6, when the Great Danes took a timeout. Following the timeout, Albany cut the lead to three, 14-11, forcing UNH to take a timeout. The two teams played rather evenly as the score was 23-17 in favor of the Wildcats. The Great Danes then reeled off an 8-0 run to go up 25-23 and eventually took the match 31-29.
Game three was all New Hampshire as the ?Cats outmuscled the Great Danes, winning 30-12. Erin Walker led the UNH onslaught with four kills. Albany hit -.053 compared to the Wildcats’ .225 hitting percentage.
In the fourth and decisive game, UNH jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before Albany came charging back. The Great Danes tied the game at 6-6, and would later take a three point lead at 21-18. New Hampshire proved to be too much down the stretch, however, as the Wildcats closed out the game on a 6-1 run, winning 30-26, and taking the game 3-1.
2003 America East Volleyball Championship
Friday, November 21
Semifinals at Lundholm Gymnasium (Durham, N.H.)
No. 3 Northeastern 3, No. 2 Stony Brook 2
No. 1 New Hampshire 3, No. 4 Albany 1
Saturday, November 22
Championship Game at Lundholm Gymnasium (Durham, N.H.)
New Hampshire vs. Northeastern, 4 p.m.