Rallies From Two Sets Down, Falls 3-2 at Albany

Sunday, October 16

Albany, NY

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

11-10, 4-2AE

University at Albany

12-6, 6-0AE

New Hampshire

UAlbany

10/16/2016 6:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Muses, Tanski Record Double-Doubles

ALBANY, N.Y. – Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) and Emily Tanski (Plymouth, Mich.) both recorded double-doubles as the University of New Hampshire volleyball team erased a two-set deficit, but the University at Albany won the decisive fifth set 18-16 in Sunday afternoon's America East showdown at University Gym. The set scores were 25-23, 25-22, 13-25, 26-28, 18-16.

Muses recorded a match- and season-high 22 kills and 18 digs while Tanski tallied a personal-best 20 kills and a team-high 20 digs. Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) finished with a season-high 58 assists.

UNH is now 11-10 overall and 4-2 in America East while Albany improved to 12-6, 6-0 with its 10^th consecutive win.

New Hampshire Team Stats
74 kills / 18 errors / .269 hitting percentage
70 assists
8 services aces / 7 service errors
96 digs
9 blocks (including 4 solo)

Albany Team Stats
72 kills / 28 errors / .212 hitting percentage
67 assists
8 service aces / 1 service errors
110 digs
13 blocks (including 3 solo)

UNH Individual Stats
Demi Muses: 22 kills, 18 digs, .304 hit %, four blocks
Emily Tanski: 20 kills, 20 digs, .302 hit %
Keelin Severtson: 58 assists, 12 digs
Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.): 19 digs

Albany Individual Stats
Lani Leindecker: 21 kills, .311 hit %, 19 digs
Chloe Evering: 18 kills, 292 hit%
Amanda Dolan: 10 kills, .261 hit %, five blocks
Mikala McCauley: 58 assists, 21 digs, 2.5 blocks
Nicole Otero: 27 digs

Up Next: UNH is on the road the remainder of October. The road trip continues Oct. 21 at Delaware State and Oct. 22 at University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Next Home Game: The Wildcats return home Nov. 4 (7 p.m.) to play UMass Lowell.

The Difference
After seeing a 13-9 lead disappear, Albany fended off two match points in Set 5 and closed out the match with three consecutive points.

-1^st set-
Albany held a 7-4 lead and won four consecutive points to extend the advantage to 11-4. The Great Danes still led by a seven-point margin, 16-9, when the Wildcats reeled of six consecutive points as part of a 9-1 spurt to take an 18-17 lead. UNH led 20-18 but Albany responded with three straight points – two Gabrielle Hansen service aces – to go back in front, 21-20. The 'Cats fended off one set point on a kill by Courtney Bowman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), but Akuabata Okenwa answered with a kill to give the home team the first set, 25-23.

-2^nd set-
New Hampshire responded well by building an 8-4 lead and 12-6 advantage that prompted an Albany timeout. The Great Danes responded with a 5-2 run to close within 14-11, then won six straight points to surge ahead 17-15. The home team inched closer to clinching the second set with a 4-1 spurt to push the score to 20-16. The Wildcats won five of the next seven points to close within 22-21 and also got the margin to one point at 23-22, but back-to-back kills by Laini Leindecker and Okenwa gave Albany a 2-0 lead in the match.

-3^rd set-
As they did in Set 2, the Wildcats got off to a quick start in Set 3 with leads of 8-3 and 13-6. This time, however, UNH did not allow the Great Danes to rally. The visitors inched ahead 16-8 to force Albany to call its second timeout of the set. New Hampshire continued to pull away, however, as a 4-2 spurt advanced the score to 20-10, and UNH closed out the set with three consecutive points for a 25-13 set victory. The Wildcats recorded a match-best .375 hitting percentage in the set.

-4^th set-
Albany led 9-5 when UNH won five consecutive points – fueled by a Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.) kill and back-to-back Tanski kills – to take a 10-9 lead. With the score tied at 11, the 'Cats surged ahead with a 6-2 spurt but the Great Danes earned consecutive points to trim the deficit to 17-15. UNH extended the advantage to 21-17 before Albany rallied with six consecutive points. The Great Danes had match point at 24-23, but Muses recorded back-to-back kills to give UNH set point. Albany responded with consecutive points but the 'Cats fended off a second match point on yet another kill by Muses, then captured the set on a Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas) service ace and Albany hitting error.

-5^th set-
The teams traded points early to move the score to 6-5 in favor of UNH, but Albany tallied the next four points to take a9-6 lead. The Wildcats closed within one point, but the Great Danes responded with three consecutive points to extend the advantage to 12-8. Trailing 13-9, UNH won five straight points – three on kills by Muses – to earn match point at 14-13 on an assisted block by Muses and Smith. The Great Danes prolonged the match and earned its third match point of the day by winning the next two points. UNH won back-to-back points to take a 16-15 lead but Albany stayed alive on Leindecker's kill, then won the next two points, the last of which was a Leindecker ace, to close the match at 18-16.

UNH Notebook
UNH recorded season highs in kills (74), total attempts (208), assists (70), and digs (96). The Wildcats entered the match with a 2-0 record in five-set matches.

For the most up-to-date information on the volleyball team, visit UNHWildcats.com. For additional information on the UNH volleyball team, like the squad on Facebook or follow the 'Cats on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @UNHVOLLEYBALL.