Volleyball Succumbs to Delaware in Three Sets

Friday, September 11

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

6-3, 0-0AE

University of Delaware

3-4, 0-0CAA

Delaware

New Hampshire

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

9/11/2015 10:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire volleyball team were outdone by the University of Delaware in a three-set decision at Lundholm Gymnasium on Friday night to end day one action of the Holly Young Invitational.

The set scores were 18-25, 21-25 and 13-25. UNH's six match unbeaten streak comes to an end, falling to 6-3 in the non-conference tilt. Delaware ups its record to 3-4. In the first contest of the day, Michigan State University upended Boston College in three sets (25-22, 25-18, 25-18).

Junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) was one kill shy of a double-double, posting nine kills and 12 digs for New Hampshire. Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) notched seven kills and a season-high 18 digs. Redshirt freshman Molly Wotton (Dover, N.H.) set a new career-high with six kills on the strength of a .333 attack percentage. Junior Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) and sophomore Sasha Cucuz (Plymouth, Mich.) shared the setting duties, distributing assist tallies of 23 and 11, respectively. Senior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) anchored the backline with 12 digs.

Senior middle hitter Chandler Bryant logged a match-high 11 kills on 17 swings for a .529 hitting percentage to power the Blue Hens. Junior setter Julia Anderson orchestrated the offense with 30 assists while chipping in six digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Sheridan Wood tallied 19 digs in the backcourt.

In the opening set, the two sides traded the first six exchanges out of the chute in the opening set, but Delaware was first to hit the 10-point threshold with a 10-5 edge early. A pair of UD miscues followed by a Wotton kill cut the deficit down to two points for the Wildcats. However, a 4-1 surge by the Blue Hens forced the 'Cats to call timeout as the host team trailed 14-9 in the frame. Muses ripped a pair of kills out of the huddle to whittle the Delaware lead to three points. The Blue Hens retaliated by engineering a 7-2 run to own a 21-14 lead late in the stanza. Burning a second timeout, UNH landed three straight kills to whittle Delaware's edge to 21-17. The Blue Hens halted the late rally from the 'Cats, closing out the frame by grabbing four of the last five points to take set one.

The second stanza was a tenacious back-and-forth battle, featuring 17 tie scores and nine lead changes. Knotted at the 16 mark, senior middle blocker Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) slashed a kill to break the deadlock. After an attack miscue from the Blue Hens, Muses hammered another kill to give the 'Cats a 19-16 lead. Despite the three-point edge, the Blue Hens clawed back to even the score at 20-20 and 21-21. Delaware ripped a service ace to take a 21-20 edge as UNH opted to huddle. The Blue Hens were not phased by the stoppage, punctuating the set with four set points to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.

Delaware caught steam in set three, scorching out to an 8-2 lead. Despite kills from Muses and Wotton, the Blue Hens padded their lead to 21-8 in search of the sweep. UNH would not fade away easily as senior right side hitter Brenna Buckwalter (Evergreen, Colo.), freshman middle blocker Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.) and Forrest all tacked on kills late. However, the deficit was too much to overcome as UD was able to seize set three and the match.

Holly Young Invitational action resumes tomorrow with Delaware and Boston College squaring off at 10 a.m. New Hampshire and Michigan State clash in the 12:30 p.m. match. MSU will remain on the court as it competes against UD at 4:30 p.m. The tournament concludes with the 15^th annual "Pack the Arena Night" match featuring New England adversaries UNH and Boston College at 7 p.m.

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