ALBANY, N.Y. -- The fourth-seeded Stony Brook volleyball team knocked off regular season champion Albany in straight sets at University Gym Friday night to earn a spot in the title match on Saturday. The Seawolves kept it close all night and were able to rally when down to close out the victory. Stony Brook will face second-seeded Binghamton in the America East Championship.

Belzung's Reaction
"Compete with confidence was the emphasis tonight and I thought you could see that in our eyes from start to finish," said head coach Kristin Belzung. "We knew we needed to get McKyla [Brooks] involved early and she was connecting really well with  setter LeAnne [Sakowicz]. On top of that, I thought we won the scrappy plays. We are excited for the opportunity to compete for an America East Championship tomorrow."

Set-By-Set
- The two teams kept it close early on as neither led by more than three points until late. Back-to-back kills for the Seawolves quickly turned into a 5-1 run, forcing Albany to burn both of its timeouts in the span as it trailed 22-18. Three straight points, including two kills from junior Emily Costello (Webster, N.Y.) earned Stony Brook the 25-20 win. 
- The Great Danes seemed to control the momentum right away as they jumped out to an 11-4 lead in Set 2. An 8-1 run for the Seawolves tied things up at 13 and a three-point rally gave them their first lead in the set, 18-17. Albany committed three straight errors before junior McKyla Brooks (Blasdell, N.Y.) threw down a big kill to give the Seawolves the 25-21 win. 
- Each team used scoring rallies early to keep play even yet again. Stony Brook used a 5-0 run nearing the midway point in the set to go up 14-10. Albany was able to get back within one, but three straight kills from the Seawolves sealed the sweep with a 25-20 win. 

Notes
- This is the first time since 2005 that the four-seed has knocked off the regular season conference champion to advance to the title match.
- Saturday will mark the fifth time the Seawolves have played in the America East championship. 
- Stony Brook and Binghamton have met once in the championship game as the Seawolves fell 3-1 in 2005, their last title-game appearance.
- The semifinal victory marked the first win by Stony Brook over the Great Danes this season and the first post-season defeat of Albany since that same 2005 season. 

Up Next
The Seawolves take on Binghamton in the America East Championship game Saturday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. The match will be played at University Gym on the Albany campus.