Albany’s Ashley Crenshaw made a bold promise to her student body.
The sophomore middle blocker of the Great Danes’ women’s volleyball team said, “On Sunday we’ll take on the Binghamton Bearcats where we will try to avenge our only conference loss. I promise you will not be disappointed.”
The defending champions may have won 12 of its last 13 matches, but the Great Danes (18-3, 4-1 AE) won’t have anything to yawn about during warm-ups when they face the Bearcats (13-9, 5-0 AE) this weekend. Albany’s loss to Binghamton two weeks ago, in a dramatic four game set, is still fresh in the team’s mind.
“Albany might have been a little confident coming in here last time, but they’ll definitely be ready for us,” said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “We’ve just got to take care of business.”
The Great Danes will be led by juniors Shelby Goldman and Blair Buchanan, the America East Player and Setter of the Week, respectively.
“Albany is a good team and no good team likes to lose,” said junior middle blocker Megan Hoag. “There is a reason why they are defending conference champions. It’s going to be tough to go into their place and beat them again.”
Before the Bearcats can worry about their rematch with the Great Danes, they must first take care of the last place Hartford Hawks (8-14, 0-5 AE) tonight at the Sports Center. The Hawks enter the game on a six-game losing streak.
“Our confidence level is still high and I think we’ll play well this weekend,” Kiriyama said. “The conditions are against us but these are the times the good teams rise to the occasion.”