Volleyball Extends Winning Streak to Five, Aces Holy Cross and Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The University of New Hampshire volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches, topping the College of the Holy Cross (3-0) and Fairfield University (3-1) at Alumni Hall on Saturday to be the only team to win all three contests at the Fairfield Invitational.

Against the Crusaders, the set scores were 25-19, 25-20 and 25-16. In the match against the host Stags, the line score read 25-21, 13-25, 25-15 and 25-23. UNH improves to 5-2 in non-conference play.

Three players recorded double-double efforts in the triumph over Holy Cross. Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.), named to the Fairfield Invitational All-Tournament Team, turned in her third straight double-double by logging a match-high 19 kills and 10 digs. Junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) registered 12 kills and 14 digs. Junior setter Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) rounded out the double-double performers with 32 assists and 14 digs.
Leading a season-high 70 digs and holding Holy Cross to a .109 hitting percentage, senior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) tallied a team-high 17 digs in the backcourt.

Muses paced the offense in the match against the Stags, registering match-highs in kills (19), attack attempts (42) and hitting percentage (.405). Senior middle blocker Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) also had a stellar outing with 10 kills, six blocks and a .405 attack percentage. Forrest notched her fourth consecutive double-double performance with 10 kills and 16 digs. Severtson matched her career-high in service aces for the second straight day and dished out 43 helpers. Lightfoot manned the backline, scooping up 16 digs.

The last time UNH posted three wins in a tournament dates back to Aug. 24-25, 2007 at the Colgate Classic.

Holy Cross stayed close for the first half of set one despite UNH never trailing in the set. The 'Cats cruised out to a 10-3 start, fueled by a plethora of kills from senior outside hitter Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio), Forrest and Muses. The Crusaders fired back, cutting the lead down to 15-13 midway through the frame. The momentum shifted after a service error from the Crusaders. Holding onto a 16-13 lead, the Wildcats jumped on the opportunity and engineered a 7-4 surge, punctuated by back-to-back blocks from senior right side hitter Brenna Buckwalter (Evergreen, Colo.) and Croci. Muses tacked on two more kills to cement game one for the Wildcats.

The Crusaders nabbed the first two exchanges to begin set two, but UNH captured the next six points sparked by a pair of service aces from sophomore outside hitter Courtney Bowman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). New Hampshire and Holy Cross remained in a neck-to-neck battle as the score rose to 13-12 in favor of UNH. Out of the New Hampshire huddle, Forrest and Muses landed kills to carve out a three-point edge. The Crusaders responded with a kill followed by a Wildcat attack error to bring the lead back down to one. Clenching onto a 16-15 lead, UNH again capitalized on Holy Cross miscues. A pair of errors followed by kills from Bowman and Forrest upped the UNH lead to 21-16 late in the stanza. Two more kills and errors from Holy Cross buried the Crusaders to propel the Wildcats to a 2-0 lead into intermission.

New Hampshire and Holy Cross traded blows out of the chute in set three, featuring 10 tied scores and seven lead changes. UNH conceded the lead on a pair of hitting miscues, forcing a timeout. The break in the action proved to be beneficial for the Wildcats, igniting an 11-3 run to lead 22-16 late in set. Holy Cross called timeout in the attempt to shake up the UNH scoring barrage. New Hampshire completed the sweep, capping off the 14-3 surge with a combo block from senior outside hitter Maggie Kenney (Merrimack, N.H.) and Muses to capture match point.

In the tilt against the Stags, the 'Cats were first to hit the 10-point threshold, owning a 10-5 edge to begin the last match of the tournament. Fairfield whittled the New Hampshire lead down to 13-10 midway through the stanza. However, UNH reconstructed its five-point margin back to 17-12 on the strength of contributions from Forrest, Muses, Croci and Kenney. Fairfield attempted to rally again as the home team rallied to decrease the UNH lead down to 22-19, forcing New Hampshire to take a breather. The timeout worked in favor of the Wildcats as a Muses kill followed by a Bowman ace propelled the squad to capture set point and the opening frame.

Back-and-forth scoring was the story to begin the second frame. After Fairfield opened a minimal 10-7 edge, the 'Cats called timeout. Coming out of the huddle, UNH tallied two of the next three exchanges, highlighted by a termination from Forrest. However, the Stags surged ahead and constructed a 10-2 run to lead 20-12 late in the set. The deficit was too much to overcome despite kills from Muses and Brinkman. Fairfield was able to even the match at 1-1 heading to the locker rooms.

New Hampshire jetted out to a 11-3 lead out of the chute, powered by seven kills and a service ace to start the third stanza. Fairfield used a timeout and attempt to break up the UNH momentum. The Stags were able to snap the hot start by the Wildcats and dwindle the lead down to 14-11. New Hampshire opted to huddle to regain its composure in the match. Points from Croci, Forrest and Severtson combined with errors by the Stags allowed the 'Cats to rebuild their advantage to 20-14. Two kills, two aces and a setting error bridged the gap to propel UNH to the set three win.

The fourth stanza was a tenacious back-and-forth battle, featuring 12 tie scores and six lead changes. UNH relied heavily on Croci and Muses as the middle block duo combined for nine kills on 17 swings to carry the offense. The defensive effort in the deciding frame was spearheaded by Forrest with five digs bolstered by four total blocks from the front line. Knotted at the 19 mark, Croci snapped the deadlock with a kill. The Wildcats notched another two points to lead 21-19 as Croci and Kenney teamed up for a back-to-back blocks, forcing Fairfield to huddle in the attempt to extend the match to a fifth set. The Stags prevailed on two of the next three exchanges out of the stoppage to trail 22-21 as the 'Cats used a timeout. New Hampshire regained its lead on a service error and a block by Kenney and Muses to force match point. Fairfield made it a one-point game at 24-23 in favor of the visitors with back-to-back kills. Brinkman quelled the rally, landing the match-deciding kill and cementing the fifth consecutive win for the 'Cats.

UNH returns home to begin a stretch of four matches in Durham. The Wildcats start the home swing by hosting Bryant University on Tuesday, Sept. 8 (7 p.m.). Following the mid-week tilt, Lundholm Gymnasium will set the stage for the Holly Young Invitational. New Hampshire will open the tournament against the University of Delaware on Friday, Sept. 11 (7 p.m.). UNH closes the weekend out against Michigan State University (12:30 p.m.) and Boston College (7 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 12. The match against the Eagles will be the 15^th annual "Pack the Arena" night for the UNH volleyball team.

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