Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Senior Jackie Ahlers (Stony Point, N.Y.) tallied a match-high 31 kills and senior Morgan Sweany (Mission Viejo, Calif.) added 22 as the Stony Brook women's volleyball team rallied from 2-0 down for their seventh straight victory, a 3-2 win over Albany at Stony Brook Arena on Friday night. The Seawolves go to 19-7 overall and 7-1 in the America East while the Great Danes fall to 15-8 and 4-3.

Ahlers recorded a hitting percentage of .403 for the Seawolves who also got a double-double (67 assists, 17 digs) from senior Kaitlyn Deutsch (St. Louis, Mo.). Junior Noelle Bay (Selden, N.Y) led Stony Brook with a match-high 21 digs.

The teams battled back and forth in game one but with the game tied at 20 the Great Danes scored three straight points highlighted by kills from Brooke Stanley and Amanda Cowdrey to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Seawolves closed to within one at 28-27 on an Ahlers kill but Albany got back-to-back kills from Kate Eckhardt and Cowdrey to close it out.

The Great Danes picked up right where they left off in game two, going on a 13-5 spurt to push a 13-11 lead to 26-16 on the strength of three more Cowdrey kills. The Seawolves would close the deficit to six at 29-23 but a Stony Brook service error gave Albany the win and a 2-0 lead.

Stony Brook began to change the momentum in game three, bolting to a 15-8 lead with the help of four Sweany kills. Albany would creep within four at 16-12 but the Seawolves scored four straight points to push the lead to eight and coasted from there to the 30-21 victory. Stony Brook hit .353 in the game while holding the Great Danes to a .200 attack percentage.

Game four was close all the way with neither team holding a lead of more than three until the Seawolves scored four straight points on two kills apiece from Sweany and freshman Linda Weber (Dachau, Germany) to take a 22-15 lead. Albany responded though, scoring seven straight points to tie it at 22.

The lead would exchange hands four more times until, with the score tied at 26, the Seawolves scored two straight points on kills from Ahlers and Weber to take a 28-26 advantage. Albany closed to within 29-28 but a Sweany kill gave Stony Brook the victory and sent the match into a fifth game.

Stony Brook took a quick 6-4 lead in game five but the Great Danes would rally to tie it at six and seven. The Seawolves responded with kills from senior Amy Oleksiej (Coram, N.Y.) and Deutsch to take a 9-7 advantage and force an Albany timeout. The Great Danes would hang in the game, cutting the lead to one at 11-10 but Ahlers answered with a kill and the Seawolves closed it out on Sweany's 21st kill of the match. The Seawolves hit a match-best .407 in the fifth and deciding game.

Ashley Crenshaw led Albany with 18 kills while Cowdrey added 11. Eckhardt and Teresa Coppiellie paced the Great Danes with 21 and 20 digs, respectively.

The Seawolves return to action on Friday, November 2, hosting Maine at 7 p.m.