Forrest Surpasses 1,000 Kills in Volleyball's Four-Set Triumph Over Marshall

Friday, September 4

Fairfield, Conn.

4 PM

University of New Hampshire

3-2

Marshall University

4-1

New Hampshire

Marshall

Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest became the eighth player in UNH volleyball history to amass 1,000 kills.

Photo by: UNH Volleyball

Forrest Surpasses 1,000 Kills in Volleyball's Four-Set Triumph Over Marshall

9/4/2015 7:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) recorded her 1,000th career kill as the University of New Hampshire volleyball team trumped Marshall University in four sets Friday at Alumni Hall to begin the Fairfield Invitational.

The set scores were 25-12, 25-18, 13-25 and 25-16.

New Hampshire notches its third straight win and improves to 3-2 in the non-conference match. Marshall concedes its first match of the 2015 season and falls to 4-1 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Forrest became the eighth Wildcat to reach 1,000 kills, reaching the milestone in the fourth set. The co-captain posted her third double-double performance of the season and second in as many matches with 13 kills and 10 digs. Junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) also tallied 13 kills in the contest while chipping in eight digs and three blocks. Junior setter Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) piloted the offense to hit .258 on the afternoon, distributing 29 assists while ripping a career-high four service aces. Senior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) notched a team-high 15 digs to anchor the backline.

Marshall was led by sophomore outside hitter Taylor Pelton with a match-high 16 terminations. Junior outside hitter Cassie Weaver added 12 kills while contributing eight digs. Sophomore setter Kayla Simmons orchestrated the offense with 36 assists and pitched in eight digs. Junior libber Allie Kellerman registered a match-high 17 digs.

UNH showcased its offense right out of the gate, logging a .444 hitting percentage in set one. The Wildcats landed 15 kills on 27 swings with just three errors. Senior outside hitter Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio), Forrest and Muses all tallied three kills in the frame. On the other side of the net, the Wildcats stymied the Thundering Herd attack. The opposition was limited to a .037 hitting percentage, forcing six errors throughout the stanza. New Hampshire handily seized set one, 25-12.

The Wildcats continued to fire on all cylinders in the second stanza. The blue and white captured the first four points and jolted out to a 10-5 lead early. Marshall chipped away at the New Hampshire lead as Pelton tried to jumpstart her team's offense with a pair of kills. However, the Wildcats stretched their lead to 18-9, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Severtson. The Thundering Herd attempted to muster a comeback late in the frame, coming back from 24-14 and whittling the Wildcat lead down to 24-18. Brinkman stepped in to halt the rally, punctuating the set with a kill to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead into intermission.

Marshall came out firing in set three, fighting to prolong the match. The two sides traded blows as the score was knotted at 6-6 to begin the stanza. The Thundering Herd engineered a lengthy 12-1 run to own a 21-9 advantage in the frame. Forrest managed to slow down the Marshall scoring brigade. However, the Thundering Herd slammed the door to extend the match into a fourth frame by a 25-13 score.

New Hampshire bounced back in the decisive frame, stringing together an 8-2 surge out of the chute. Not phased by a Marshall timeout, UNH padded its lead into double digits to take a 13-3 lead on the strength of kills from Forrest and Muses. The Thundering Herd clawed back to whittle the Wildcat lead down to 20-15, attempting to force a fifth set. New Hampshire buckled down following a timeout and claimed five of the last six exchanges to cement its third straight victory, highlighted by a combo block from senior outside hitter Maggie Kenney (Merrimack, N.H.), Brinkman and Muses.

New Hampshire concludes the Fairfield Invitational in matches against the College of Holy Cross (10 a.m.) and host Fairfield University (8 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 5.

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