Volleyball Shakes First Set to Upend Bryant in Four Sets

Tuesday, September 8

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

6-2, 0-0AE

Bryant University

4-4, 0-0NEC

Bryant

New Hampshire

UNH is off to its best six-match start since the 2007 season.

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

9/8/2015 11:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. -- Junior middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) posted her second double-double of the season to propel the University of New Hampshire volleyball team to Tuesday's four-set win over Bryant University at Lundholm Gymnasium.

The set scores were 19-25, 25-15, 25-22 and 25-21.

UNH tallies its sixth consecutive win and improves to 6-2 in the non-conference match. Bryant drops its fourth straight decision and slips to 4-4. New Hampshire is off to its best eight-match start since 2007.

Muses was a major factor in the victory, turning in a double-double performance of 18 kills and 11 digs accompanied by a .436 hitting percentage. She also added four blocks in the win. Senior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) posted nine kills and 10 digs, just one kill shy of extending her double-double streak to five matches. Junior setter Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) commanded the offense with 36 assists while chipping in five digs. Senior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) tallied a season-high 26 digs to anchor the backline.

New Hampshire rifled a season-high eight aces from the service line.

Sophomore setter Vika Nesterov registered a triple-double performance, notching 29 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills in the setback to lead Bryant. Freshman outside hitter Kristin Kingi paced the Bulldog offense with 14 kills while scooping up 16 digs. Senior defensive specialist Debora Magalhaes patrolled the court with a match-high 30 digs.

The Bulldogs bolted out of the gate with a 7-1 run to begin the match. While senior outside hitter Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio) and Muses halted the rally with kills, Bryant marched ahead to take a 13-4 lead midway through the frame. UNH clawed back, ripping aces by Forrest, Lightfoot and Severtson to knot the match at the 16 mark as part of a 12-3 surge. Tied at 18 apiece, the Bulldogs again broke away with a string of points. Bryant engineered a 7-1 run to capture the first game.

Determined to even the score, the Wildcats sprinted out to a 10-7 lead in the second stanza, landing six kills from a combination of freshman middle blocker Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.), red shirt freshman Molly Wotton (Dover, N.H.), Brinkman and Muses. An attack error by Bryant followed by another termination from Muses forced a timeout from the visitors. Following the stoppage by the Bulldogs, the Wildcats rolled out an 8-4 run, punctuated by back-to-back kills from Forrest to take a 20-11 lead late in the frame. After a second huddle by Bryant, the visitors did not fade away quietly. The Bulldogs swiftly captured four of the next five exchanges to cut the New Hampshire lead down to 21-15. UNH used its timeout to collect its composure. The breather proved to be beneficial, closing out the set with four straight points to even the match into intermission.

UNH relied heavily on Muses in the third frame, hammering six kills on 12 swings. In the early goings of the third set, an 8-4 run by the Bulldogs minimized the 'Cats capturing eight of the first 10 exchanges out of the chute. UNH jolted ahead again, constructing a 6-1 surge to lead 18-11 late in the frame. Although the Wildcats found themselves comfortably in front, the cushion was quickly cut to 20-18. Brinkman, Forrest and Muses cracked kills to turn around the momentum in favor of the blue and white late in the set. Olhava and Wotton teamed up for a block to capture set point for the 'Cats to enter set four with a 2-1 lead.

Forrest got it going in set four with a kill and an ace to ignite UNH to a 10-7 start. Bryant crept closer as a pair of terminations narrowed the deficit to one. However, the Wildcats pounced on a service miscue by the Bulldogs. New Hampshire followed by landing three straight kills to lead 14-10 as Bryant opted to use a timeout. The 'Cats were not phased by the break initially, maintaining their four-point cushion into the latter portion of the set, 18-14. Bryant burned a second timeout as the squad attempted to muster a rally and extend the match. The Bulldogs methodically chipped away at the deficit, evening the frame at 21-21. Senior middle blocker Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) and Wotton would not allow New Hampshire to squander its lead. The middle blocker duo combined for two kills and a block to slam the door on Bryant's comeback and seal the sixth consecutive win for UNH.

The 'Cats remains in Durham as Lundholm Gymnasium sets the stage for the Holly Young Invitational. New Hampshire will open the four-team tournament against the University of Delaware on Friday, Sept. 11 (7 p.m.). UNH concludes the weekend against Michigan State University (12:30 p.m.) and Boston College (7 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 12. The match against the Eagles will be the 15^th annual "Pack the Arena" night for the UNH volleyball team.

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