Volleyball Brings Eight-Match Win Streak to Hartford on Saturday (7 p.m.)

Saturday, October 24

West Hartford, Conn.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

University of Hartford

Photo by: Greg Greene

Volleyball Brings Eight-Match Win Streak to Hartford on Saturday (7 p.m.)

10/23/2015 10:59:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire volleyball team looks to remain unbeaten in America East play when the squad travels to the University of Hartford on Saturday, Oct. 24 (7 p.m.).

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Wildcats come into their matchup with the Hawks with an overall record of 14-7 and 6-0 in America East play. Last weekend, the Wildcats were able to take down the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Oct. 16; 3-1; 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23) and Stony Brook University (Oct. 17; 3-0; 25-17, 25-18, 25-13).

Senior Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.), the reigning defensive specialist of the week led the Wildcats with 37 digs in the two matchups, for an average of 5.29 per set. UNH's opponents were held to a .123 attack percentage in the two matches.

Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) and junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) are tied for the team lead in kills with 2.95 per set apiece. The two also follow Lightfoot's team lead in digs with 2.88 and 2.66, respectively. Muses paces the team in blocks per set with a 0.85 average. Junior setter Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) dishes out 9.12 assists per set to orchestrate the offense. Additionally, Severtson leads the conference and ranks eighth in the nation, ripping 0.5 aces per set.

UNH records 11.53 kills per set and is holding its opponents to a league-best .172 attack percentage. New Hampshire also leads the conference in service aces with 1.72 per set.

SCOUTING HARTFORD: The Hawks come into this matchup with an overall record of 0-21 and 0-6 in league frays. Last time out, Hartford was defeated by UMBC in straight sets (19-25, 13-25, 16-25). Sophomore outside hitter Katy Henchy landed a team-high eight kills in the setback.

Freshman outside hitter Paulina Modestow leads the Hawks offensively with 2.56 kills per set. Junior defensive specialist Paola Lierandi anchors the backline, contributing 2.97 digs per set and paces the team with 17 service aces. Piloting the offense is sophomore setter Astrid Manqual, distributing 6.76 assists per set. As a team, Hartford averages 8.14 kills and 11.46 digs per set. Mitch Kallick is in his first season as head volleyball coach of the Hawks.

ALL TIME SERIES VS. HARTFORD: The Wildcats are 38-3 against the Hawks, winning the most recent match in consecutive sets at Lundholm Gymnasium on Sept. 25 (25-12, 25-12, 25-7). UNH has won the last six meetings between the two schools, dropping only three sets dating back to Nov. 9, 2012.

SEVENTEEN: New Hampshire has won 17 straight America East contests dating back to Oct. 12, 2014 when UNH swept UMBC (25-19, 25-8, 25-20). In that span, the Wildcats have only dropped seven sets against conference members. New Hampshire posted 25-straight wins against league members between the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

AMERICA EAST DOMINANCE: Through the first-half of league play, the Wildcats have prevailed in all six contests. UNH has swept five America East members and has yet to face a fifth set in its conference schedule. New Hampshire leads the America East in hitting percentage (.252), opponent hitting percentage (.071), assists per set (12.47) and service aces (48). Severtson leads all players in assists per set (11.47) and aces per set (0.74) through six America East matches. Lightfoot features a 4.68 digs per set average, good for second in the conference. In kills per set, the Wildcats are also the only team in America East with three players who rank top-10 -- Muses (3.22; third), Forrest (3.12, fifth) and Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio; 2.89; seventh).

POCKET ROCKETS: Severtson has enjoyed a breakout year from the service line, chalking up a league-best 38 aces to rank 10^th in the nation. On 12 occasions, the junior setter has hammered two or more aces. UNH's 1.71 aces per set is the highest average by the team since the 2007 season.

ROLLING DOUBLES: Forrest racked up 10 double-doubles to lead the team in 2014. The co-captain looks to eclipse that figure, having accumulated a ream-high nine double-doubles through 21 matches. Muses (seven) and Severtson (three) have also tallied double-double performances this season.

CHART TOPPERS: UNH is among the upper echelon of America East in several statistical categories this season. The Wildcats lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.172) and service aces per set (1.72) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.192). Individually, Muses and Forrest are tied for sixth in kills per set with 2.95. Severtson ranks second in the conference in assists per set (9.12) and tied for first in service aces (38). Additionally, Severtson's 38 aces ranks ninth in the nation. Lightfoot's 4.24 digs per set is good for third in America East. In league matches, New Hampshire is atop the rankings in hitting percentage (.252), opponent hitting percentage (.071), assists per set (12.47) and service aces per set (12.37).

HONORS AND AWARDS:
Tori Forrest - Fairfield Invitational All-Tournament Team (Sept. 4-5)
America East Player of the Week (Sept. 8, Sept. 21)
Big Orange All-Tournament Team (Sept. 19-20)

Madison Lightfoot - America East Defensive Specialist of the Week (Sept. 8, Oct. 5, Oct. 19)
Holly Young Invitational All-Tournament Team (Sept. 11-12)

Demi Muses - Rambler Classic All-Tournament Team (Aug. 29-30)
America East Player of the Week (Oct. 5)

Keelin Severtson - Big Orange All-Tournament Team (Sept. 19-20)
America East Setter of the Week (Sept. 21)

LIGHTFOOT BECOMES ALL-TIME DIGS LEADER: With the Wildcats' victory over Buffalo on Sept. 20, Lightfoot became the program's all-time digs leader. The senior co-captain surpassed Jen Williams '05 on the career leaderboard, who recorded 1,398 digs in her career. Lightfoot now boasts 1,524 digs and counting in her illustrious career. Lightfoot owns two of the top 10 single-season school records for digs, which includes tying the single-season digs mark of 560 just a year ago.

LEADERBOARD WATCH: Forrest continues to ascend the UNH all-time kills chart, ranking sixth with 1,166. The two-time co-captain became the eighth Wildcat to reach 1,000 kills, reaching the milestone in a four-set win (25-12, 25-18, 13-25, 25-16) against Marshall University on Sept. 4. The senior outside hitter is also closing in on the 1,000-dig plateau. Forrest currently has tallied 973 digs in her prolific career as a Wildcat.

FIVE-TIME CHAMPS: The Wildcats secured the America East title on their home court for the second straight year after defeating the University at Albany in four sets on Nov. 22, 2014 (25-22, 19-25, 27-25, 25-13). UNH has won the conference crown five times; all under the tutelage of head coach Jill Hirschinger. Additionally, all five of the program's titles have been won at Lundholm Gymnasium.

HIRSCHINGER BY THE NUMBERS: In 36 years as a head coach, Hirschinger is one of just 12 active coaches that have recorded 700 wins or more. She recorded win No. 700 on Sept. 20, 2014 against the University of Rhode Island in a five-set battle. Already the program's winningest coach, Hirschinger earned her 300th career victory at UNH when the team captured a four-set triumph over Binghamton University on Nov. 2, 2014.

DUE NEXT: UNH finishes its regular season home schedule against Binghamton University (Oct. 30; 7 p.m.) and the University at Albany (Nov. 1; 1 p.m.). The match against UAlbany is also Senior Day for the six-member class.

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