Volleyball Falters in Five-Set Affair at Harvard

Tuesday, September 15

Cambridge, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

6-6

Harvard University

2-5

New Hampshire

Harvard

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

9/15/2015 10:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite five players eclipsing double digit in kills, the University of New Hampshire volleyball team was on the wrong end of a five-set decision against Harvard University on Tuesday night at Malkin Athletic Center.

The set scores were 25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 22-25 and 14-16.

New Hampshire drops its overall record to 6-6 in the non-conference match. Harvard ups its mark to 2-5 on the season.

Junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) and senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) engineered double-double efforts on the night. Muses tallied 16 kills, 14 digs and six blocks while Forrest notched 15 kills and 11 digs. Three other Wildcats reached double digit kills. Senior middle blocker Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) ripped 12 terminations and racked up four blocks. Senior outside hitter Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio) and sophomore right side hitter Sasha Cucuz (Plymouth, Mich.) pitched in 10 kills apiece. Junior setter Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) recorded career-bests in assists (56) and kills (four). Senior defensive specialist chalked up 21 digs in the marathon match.

Junior outside hitter Grace Weghorst posted a match-high 24 kills to power the Crimson attack. Weghorst's offensive effort was bolstered by double digit-kill efforts from sophomore outside hitter Paige Kebe (14), freshman middle blocker Christina Cornelius (13) and senior middle blocker Caroline Holt (11). Harvard exerted a herculean defensive effort of 96 digs, paced by senior libero Sindhu Vegesena with 26 scoops. Setters Corinne Bain and Hannah Schmidt combined for 76 assists to power Harvard's .296 hitting percentage. Bain finished the night with a double-double, adding 20 digs to her stat line.

UNH roared out to a 5-1 lead to begin the match, but Harvard erased the quick start by landing four of the next five exchanges. New Hampshire reconstructed its lead to 12-7, tallying kills from Muses, Forrest and Cucuz. After a Crimson timeout, the home team battled back to cut the deficit to two points at 15-13. Despite the mid-set rally, the Wildcats never relinquished their lead. Brinkman and Muses combined for kills to spark a 4-1 spurt as the Crimson burned its second timeout of the set, trailing 19-14. UNH maintained a four-point cushion for the remainder of the stanza to take the first game.

In a nail-biting second set, featuring 14 ties and two lead changes, neither side could sustain a sizeable lead. Knotted at the 21 mark, Severtson snapped the deadlock with a kill. Brinkman slammed down a kill of her own to increase the 'Cats score to a 23-21 advantage, forcing Harvard to huddle. The Crimson broke out of huddle and landed a kill to pull within a point. However, New Hampshire seized the opportunity and closed out set two with terminations from Forrest and Cucuz to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.

New Hampshire and Harvard traded the first eight points to begin set three. The Crimson propelled ahead, engineering a 9-4 surge to lead 13-8 in the midst of the frame. Following offensive miscues by Harvard, UNH was able to whittle the home team down to one, 13-12. After a tenacious battle on both sides, Forrest hammered a kill to tie the set at the 18 mark. Despite the rally, Harvard seized the next two exchanges to push ahead 20-18 as the UNH bench signaled timeout. Harvard was not phased by the stoppage, extending the match into a fourth set by collecting three timely kills combined with errors by the Wildcats.

Harvard and UNH slugged it out in the fourth frame, compiling hitting percentages of .417 and .324, respectively. Much like the second stanza, the set featured a highly contested battle consisting of 14 tie scores and eight lead changes. The Wildcats were the first to hit the 10-point threshold, dashing out a 10-7 edge put of the chute. After a Croci kill, the Crimson opted to huddle and looked up at an 11-7 deficit. Harvard would not fade away quietly, methodically tying the set on multiple occasions as the score rose to 20-20. Back-to-back miscues by the 'Cats broke the set open in favor of the Crimson, 22-20. Harvard was advantageous of the opportunity and extended the match for one more set.

The Wildcats claimed the early but slim lead to open the decisive set, switching sides at 8-7. Forrest ripped an ace from the service line after the break, forcing the hand of the Harvard coaching staff to use a timeout. The Crimson regained its composure as an attack error by UNH was sandwiched by two kills to give the home team a 10-9 edge. New Hampshire opted to use a timeout in order to organize for one more push. UNH look poised to close out the contest on the winning end, generating a 4-2 run on the strength of contributions from Cucuz, Lightfoot and Muses. Facing match point, the Crimson fought back, tying the frame at 14-14 with a kill followed by an UNH attack error. Despite a second Wildcat timeout, Harvard finished the comeback with back-to-back kills to escape with match point.

New Hampshire concludes regular season tournament play at Syracuse University in the Big Orange Tournament. UNH tussles with the host Orange on Saturday, Sept. 20 (5 p.m.). The Wildcats conclude the weekend against the University at Buffalo (12:30 p.m.) and the United States Naval Academy (4 p.m.) on Sunday, Sept. 21. UNH begins its America East title defense at Lundholm Gymnasium on Friday, Sept. 25 (7 p.m.) against the University of Hartford.

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