University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
11-11, 4-1AE
Stony Brook University
11-10, 2-3AE
Three Players Eclipse Double-Digit Kills, Volleyball Overpowers Stony Brook in Four Sets
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Three players reached double-digit kills in addition to a season-high .301 attack percentage to guide the University of New Hampshire volleyball team to a four-set win over Stony Brook University at Pritchard Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The victory came by set scores of 18-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20.
Moving into first place in America East, New Hampshire improves to a record of 11-11 overall and 4-1 in conference play. Stony Brook suffers its first loss at home and falls to 11-10, 2-3.
Junior middle blocker Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) highlighted the UNH offense with a career-high 14 kills on a .423 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) was one dig shy of a double-double, posting 13 kills and nine digs. Sophomore middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) achieved her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Senior setter Taylor Dunklau (Mukwonago, Wis.) controlled the offense with 49 assists while tallying six digs, four blocks and two aces.
Junior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) anchored the backline, notching 23 digs. Muses and Croci each chipped in three blocks.
The Wildcats kicked off the opening frame, 3-1, but the Seawolves battled back to tie the set at the 11, 12 and 13 marks. Stony Brook jetted ahead with a 6-1 run as UNH opted to call timeout, trailing 19-14. New Hampshire came out of the stoppage with back-to-back kills. However, the Seawolves capped off the first stanza by claiming six of the last eight exchanges.
After hitting .162 in the opening stanza, New Hampshire turned things around and logged a .424 clip in set two. The Wildcats were strong of the gate with a 4-1 lead, but the Seawolves clawed back to level the set at 10-10. Neither team could put together a string of points as the score rose to 12-12. UNH managed to carve out a 17-14 edge as SBU burned its first timeout of the frame. The two sides traded the next eight points, bringing the score up to 21-18. Back-to-back kills from freshman right side hitter Sasha Cucuz (Plymouth, Mich.) and Forrest upped New Hampshire's advantage to 23-18, forcing Stony Brook to call time. Cucuz and Forrest tallied kills to clinch set two and tie the match at 1-1.
The Wildcats engineered another strong start to the third frame, grabbing an early 7-4 advantage. However, Stony Brook erased the three-point deficit and bolted ahead with a 12-4 run to lead 16-11. New Hampshire retaliated with an 8-1 blast to knot the score at 19 apiece, propelled by three kills from Croci. The Seawolves regained possession of the lead on a pair of errors. UNH reversed the momentum in the set with a 4-2 surge to even the set at the 23 mark. Despite a SBU timeout, New Hampshire capped off the third set with back-to-back points and led the match, 2-1.
Stony Brook opened the fourth set leading 7-4, but the Wildcats erased the three-point deficit to tie the frame at 7-7. After each side exchanging the next eight points, New Hampshire constructed an 18-15 edge late in the stanza and forced Stony Brook to burn its first timeout of the frame. SBU tried to rally, narrowing the Wildcats' lead down to two at 21-19. After a New Hampshire timeout, the Wildcats concluded the match with four kills to seize the four-set win.
New Hampshire concludes its three-game road tour Sunday, Oct. 19 (1 p.m.) at the University of Hartford. UNH is back in action at Lundholm Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 24 (7 p.m.) to host the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Please visit UNHWildcats.com or follow the Wildcats via social media on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UNHWildcats), Twitter (@UNHWildcats), YouTube (www.youtube.com/UNHAthletics) and Instagram (@UNHWildcats) for the latest news and information on all 20 varsity sports. For additional information on the UNH volleyball team, like the squad on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UNHVolleyball) or follow the 'Cats on Twitter and Instagram at @UNHVOLLEYBALL.
