UAlbany Volleyball Set for the 2013 Season

ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany volleyball team is ready to begin the 2013 season, looking to reclaim the America East crown. After earning their fifth straight America East regular season title with a 10-2 league slate and 14-15 overall record, the Great Danes hosted the conference tournament in search for a third consecutive league championship. After sweeping New Hampshire in the semifinals, UAlbany got upset by Binghamton in the title match. This year's squad will see four returners combined with nine newcomers for the 2013 campaign. Head coach MJ Engstrom will look to fuse the incoming class with key returners in search of the school's seventh America East title. The Great Danes were picked to finish first in the America East in the preseason poll. HITTERS The most experienced unit coming into the season will have a tough task, replacing reigning America East Player of the Year Sara Pope. The leading returner in kills is junior Samantha Brostrom, who notched 163 kills in 20 matches, averaging 2.72 kills per set; second only to Pope last year. The former All-Rookie Team member also had 137 digs and had five consecutive matches with 10+ kills from October 17th through November 11th. Moving from setter to playing primarily as a right side hitter, 6-foot-1 junior Sofia Furlong finished second on the team with 316 assists last season. She was also effective at the net, earning 55 blocks to finish sixth in the America East with 0.73 blocks per set. Furlong also tallied 48 kills and 85 digs. A couple of freshmen will also help the unit, including Laini Leindecker. One of the top players from the state of Ohio, she earned all-district and all-league honors all four years at New Philadelphia High, totaling 1479 kills, 1085 digs, 207 service aces and 198 total blocks in her career. She earned East Central Ohio League and District Player of the Year as a senior with 432 kills, 293 digs and 53 aces. An opposite hitter, freshman Olivia Schonewise comes to the team from the state of Nebraska. Helping Papillion-LaVista South High to a 123-1 record, a #1-ranking by Prepvolleyball, #4-ranking MaxPreps plus three state championships in three years, she earned all-state honors as a senior team captain. MIDDLE BLOCKERS The middle blocker corps will be young but a talented bunch this year. Leading the unit is 2012 America East All-Rookie Team member Tatum Jungsten, UAlbany's leader in blocks last season with 70, finishing eighth in the conference with 0.69 blocks per set. Jungsten hit .201, the best percentage among Great Dane returners, with 120 kills to average 1.18 kills per set. From Manhattan, Illinois, 6-foot-3 freshman Amanda Dolan is the tallest player on the team. Leading Lincoln-Way Central to a pair of 4A Regional championships, she tallied 381 kills and 629 blocks in her high school career, being named a Chicago Sun-Times top-50 player after hitting .390 as a senior with 239 kills and 223 blocks. Attending graduate school at UAlbany and playing volleyball is Maxence Dardelet, a former member of a U-21 champion French Cup team. She led Paris Dauphine to a National University Championship in 2012, previously earned three top-two finishes in the Third Division at the Lycée Notre Dame de Boulogne. Another player that plays for a national team, freshman Tyna William, the 2012 St. Lucia Volleyball Association Junior Female Volleyball of the Year, joins the Purple and Gold ranks from Central America. This past season, William played in her second straight regional tournament for St. Lucia and was the first player from her home country to qualify for NORCECA competition. A member of the New Zealand Junior National Team, Amy Hunter comes to UAlbany as a freshman. The 6-foot-2 middle has played volleyball on at least three different continents and helped the Otuoetai College Senior A squad to place second in national competition the past two years. SETTERS The team will rely primarily on a couple of freshmen to set the ball this season after the graduation of All-Conference First Team setter Gabby Whitworth. From southern New York comes freshman Mikala McCauley, a four-time varsity player at Stissing Mountain High. Earning Second Team All-Star status by the Poughkeepsie Journal, McCauley earned MVP of her team the past two seasons and all-region status the last three years. Hailing from Canada, freshman Rebecca Rivera will also compete for the starting spot. Helping St. Marcellinus Secondary to a 31-3 record in four years, including a Canadian National Champion in 2013, Rivera earned All-Star status in 2010 and 2013 and was the team MVP in 2011 and 2012. LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS The 2012 America East Defensive Player of the Year, junior Viktoriia Stroilo, returns to lead the UAlbany back row. Stroilo led the conference with 5.33 digs per set, totaling 560, and was 11th in the league with 0.24 aces per set for a total of 25, leading all returners for the team. Also on defense is freshman Lauren Spreen. Earning MVP of Cor Jesu Academy plus all-conference and all-region honors in 2012, Spreen tallied 511 digs and 18 service aces her senior season as team captain of the Chargers. COACHING STAFF Head Coach MJ Engstrom returns for her sixth season with UAlbany helping compiled a 102-51 record in the last five years, including three America East championships and five regular season titles. Also back is assistant coach Rich Zwolinski for his third season with the Great Danes. Returning the program as an assistant coach is Brooke Stanley, a former America East Player of the Year with UAlbany. SCHEDULE The Great Danes will play in four in-season tournaments before starting their America East schedule. The season for UAlbany begins on Friday, August 30th at the Los Angeles Westside Invitational in California. The Great Danes will play UCLA at 7 p.m. ET, followed by matches against tournament Loyola Marymount then North Texas at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. respectively the next day. After playing in the UConn Classic, Carolina Classic and Penn State Classic, the Great Danes open America East play with the home opener at the University Gym against Binghamton on Sunday, September 29th at 5 p.m. The conference schedule will include 14 America East matches, including seven at home. The America East Championship will be hosted by the highest seed and will be played from November 22nd-23rd.