WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Fresh off its first America East win of the season last weekend, the Hartford volleyball team returns home to host UAlbany on Sunday. First serve from the Hartford Volleyball Gym is set for 5 p.m.
 
MATCH 18 | HARTFORD HAWKS (3-14, 1-3 AE) vs. UALBANY GREAT DANES (7-11, 3-1 AE)
DATE | TIME: Sunday, Oct. 17 | 5 p.m.
LOCATION: Hartford Volleyball Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE STREAM: America East TV
TWITTER: @HartfordWVB | #FlyHigh | #AEVB
 
HARTFORD QUICK HITS

• Hartford split a pair of road matches last weekend, falling at UAlbany in straight sets on Friday before rallying for a 3-1 win at Binghamton on Sunday
• Coming off back-to-back double-doubles — totaling 29 kills and 30 digs — freshman Cambryn Luginbuhl is one of the top offensive threats in the league
• A native of Tolland, Conn., she leads the America East in kills (246), kills per set (4.03), points (271) and points per set (4.44)
• Senior Valerie Diede, who has registered a career-high seven blocks twice this season, paces the defense and is seventh in the conference with 0.87 blocks per set
• Her presence has been felt even more since the start of league play, where she has pushed that number to 1.19 blocks per set

• Senior Alex Lucero has proven to be a stalwart on the Hartford line during conference play as she leads all players with 5.63 digs per game 

 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Hawks stormed back from a 1-0 deficit to take down Binghamton, 3-1, last Sunday in Vestal, N.Y.
• Luginbuhl and junior Maddie Lindsay registered double figures in kills, finishing with 19 and 10, respectively
• Diede (3 aces, 3 blocks) and Lucero (26 digs) paced the Hawks defensively in the win

 
SCOUTING UALBANY

• The Great Danes battle New Hampshire on Friday night before they head to West Hartford for Sunday's match
• UAlbany enters the weekend riding a three-game winning streak after taking down Stony Brook (3-0), Hartford (3-0) and NJIT (3-1) 
• Kelly Kamara (2.51 kills per set), Oren Abutbul (2.50) and Danielle Tedesco (2.25) pace a balanced Great Danes' attack that ranks fourth in the America East with a .177 hitting percentage
• Tedesco registered a match-best 12 kills in last Friday's win against Hartford
• Defensively, UAlbany averages 2.28 blocks per set, second-most in the America East

 
SERIES HISTORY WITH UALBANY

• Hartford and UAlbany meet for the second time in a 10-day stretch on Sunday
• The Great Danes improved to 41-4 in the all-time series after scoring a 3-0 win in their last meeting, on Oct. 8
• UAlbany has a 23-match winning streak that dates back to 2010

KILLA CAM LUGINBUHL

• Luginbuhl has been one of the league's top newcomers this season
• She has accrued five weekly awards from the America East this season
• A four-time America East Rookie of the Week honoree (Aug. 31, Sept. 7, Sept. 14, Oct. 12) she was also named the league's Player of the Week on Aug. 31
• A native of Tolland, Conn., she became the first player in program history to begin her career by earning three straight Rookie of the Week awards 
• In addition, Luginbuhl is just the second Hawk to earn the distinction in three straight weeks, joining current teammate Lindsay
• Luginbuhl ranks second in program history behind current teammate Maddie Lindsay — an eight-time Rookie of the Week recipient in 2019 — for the most weekly awards accrued by a Hawk freshman
• Luginbuhl leads Hartford with six double-doubles, including a recent 19-kill, 14-dig effort last Sunday against Binghamton

GALLIGAN'S ISLAND

• Sophomore Morgan Galligan has exploded onto the scene in 2021
• Hartford's top setter, she is third in the league with 501 assists and fourth in the conference with 8.21 assists per set
• Galligan has registered 20 or more assists in 11 matches this season, most recently posting 25 helpers in a losing effort against UMBC on Oct. 3
• She registered a career-high 51 assists in a thrilling five-set victory over Quinnipiac

ALEX THE GREAT

• Lucero enters the weekend as the America East's leader in digs per set (4.90)
• A native of Plano, Texas, she has led the Hawks in digs in 13 contests this season, including a career-best 34-dig performance in a win over Quinnipiac on Sept. 3
• Lucero tallied her 1,000th career dig against earlier this season Bryant, on Sept. 21
• Her 1,087 career digs rank fifth in the program's rally-scoring era

HARTFORD'S ACE

• Diede, who leads Hartford's defense and is seventh in the league with 0.87 blocks per set has been on top of her serve game since the start of America East play
• In 16 sets, she leads the league in service aces (10) and service aces per set (0.63)
• The senior was impressive in last Sunday's win against Binghamton, delivering three straight aces to break open a 19-19 deadlock and propel the Hawks to third-set victory

NEXT ON TAP

• The Hawks remain home to host Stony Brook on Friday (Oct. 22)
• First serve is set for 7 p.m. from the Hartford Volleyball Gym

For more information on the Hartford volleyball team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (Twitter | Instagram)