Empire State of Mind: Matches at Binghamton (Oct. 14) & Albany (Oct. 16)

UNH (11-8, 4-0 America East) at Binghamton (8-11, 2-3 America East)
Friday, Oct. 14 • 7 pm • West Gym • Vestal, N.Y.
Video • Live Stats

UNH (11-8, 4-0 America East) at Albany (11-6, 5-0 America East)
Sunday, Oct. 16 • 2 pm • University Gym • Albany, N.Y.
Video • Live Stats

Wildcat Trio Feted by America East
Three UNH Wildcats received a weekly award from America East on Tuesday. Senior captain and middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) was named Player of the Week; senior and captain Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Calif.) was tabbed Setter of the Week; and freshman outside hitter Emily Tanski (Plymouth, Mich.) was selected Rookie of the Week.

Both Muses and Severtson were honored for the second consecutive week and third time this season. Tanski was named top rookie for the second time, and a UNH Wildcat has received the rookie award four consecutive weeks.

The trio led New Hampshire to 3-1 road wins last week against both Hartford and UMass Lowell.

Muses: Player of the Week Highlights
Demi Muses averaged 3.12 kills per set and 5.25 digs per set in the two road matches. Her other stats included a .333 hitting percentage, 0.75 assists per set and 0.38 blocks per set, as well as 3.62 points per set. In the four-set win at Hartford on Oct. 7, she recorded a match-high 20 digs as well as nine kills on the strength of a .318 hitting percentage; she also recorded three blocks vs. the Hawks. Two days later at UMass Lowell, Muses recorded 16 kills, .343 hitting percentage and a season-high 22 digs; those numbers were match highs in both kills and digs, bolstered UNH to a .272 team hitting percentage and held the River Hawks to a mark of .070.

Severtson: Setter of the Week Highlights
Keelin Severtson averaged 12.38 assists per set and 2.38 digs per set to quarterback New Hampshire to the pair of road wins. She orchestrated the Wildcats to a season-high .344 hitting percentage at Hartford and .272 mark at UML. Severtson recorded a season-high 55 assists, as well as 10 digs, at Hartford to record her third double-double of the season. UNH's season-best .344 hitting percentage included .378 in the second set, an eye-popping .520 in the third set and .355 to close out the match in the fourth set. Sunday at UMass Lowell, Severtson tallied 44 assists and was also credited with nine digs.

Tanski: Rookie of the Week Highlights
Emily Tanski averaged 3.25 kills per set and 2.88 digs per set. She committed just seven errors on 64 attacks for a .297 hitting percentage. Tanski tallied 12 kills and nine digs, as well as three blocks and three service aces, in the win at Hartford. She recorded her team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 14 digs at UMass Lowell. Tanski committed only three errors on 34 attacks for a .324 hitting percentage.

UNH at Binghamton
New Hampshire has an 18-12 lifetime record, including three wins last season, against Binghamton University. UNH swept the 2015 regular-season series with straight-set wins Oct. 4 in Vestal (25-18, 25-23, 25-22) and Oct. 30 in Durham (25-23, 25-23, 25-10), then the Wildcats upended the Bearcats, 3-1, in the America East semifinals (25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22). UNH has won seven consecutive matchups dating back to Oct. 18, 2013. Binghamton's most recent win was Oct. 26, 2012 in five sets at UNH. And the Bearcats' most recent home win was Oct. 8, 2010 in four sets.

UNH at Albany
New Hampshire has an 18-19 lifetime record, including 2-1 last season, against Albany. UNH toppled Albany in the America East championship match for the second consecutive year with a 3-1 victory last year at Lundholm Gym. In the regular-season matchups, both teams won on the other's home court as the Wildcats won in straight sets in Albany (Oct. 2) and the Great Danes returned the favor in Durham (Nov. 1). The visitors also won both regular-season meetings in 2014, whereas in 2013, both teams successfully defended home court.

New Hampshire Scout
UNH enters the weekend with an 11-8 overall record that includes 4-0 in America East and 3-3 on the road; the Wildcats are 2-0 in conference road games. New Hampshire takes a four-match win streak into Friday's match at Binghamton. Last weekend, the Wildcats began a stretch of eight consecutive road matches with 3-1 victories against both Hartford (21-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-21) and UMass Lowell (25-16, 25-16, 24-26, 25-11).

Bringing The Thunder
Through four conference matches, UNH is hitting at a .290 clip while holding the opponents to a .098 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.) leads the way at .411, followed by Demi Muses (.333), freshman outside hitter Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas; .288) and Emily Tanski (.280).

Conference Dominance
Since the start of the 2013 season, UNH has a 38-4 America East conference record (.905 winning percentage). The Wildcats won both the regular-season and tournament titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Win Streaks
Dating back to last season, UNH has won seven consecutive America East conference matches. The last conference team to defeat the Wildcats was Albany (Nov. 1, 2015; 3-0; at UNH's Lundholm Gym). New Hampshire has won 16 consecutive road conference matches dating back to a 3-0 loss at Albany on Oct. 20, 2013.

Olhava Hits High
Gabri Olhava hit her way to a career-high 17 kills with a .481 hitting percentage at Hartford last Friday. Her previous high was 13 kills against Siena College on Sept. 2.

Severtson Sets New High
Keelin Severtson established a season high of 55 assists Oct. 7 at Hartford. It marked her fourth match of 50-plus assists this season.

Muses Is Diggin' It
Demi Muses recorded two of the team's top three single-match efforts in digs last weekend. The 22 digs at UMass Lowell (Oct. 9) matched the benchmark established by Emily Tanski (Sept. 3 at Boston College), and Muses' 20-dig effort at Hartford (Oct. 7) equaled that of Sara Carlson (Sept. 9 vs. Rutgers) for No. 3 on the list.

Second Set Strong
UNH has won the second set in 13 of 19 matches, including each of the past six matches and in 9 of 10. In comparison, the Wildcats have taken a 1-0 match lead eight times and have captured the third set nine times.

Great Depths
Last Sunday's four-set victory at UMass Lowell marked the fifth time this season that four Wildcats tallied 10-plus digs as well as the fourth time that three 'Cats finished with double-digit kills. It is the third time UNH achieved both feats; it previously occurred Sept. 3 at Boston College and Sept. 20 vs. Northeastern University.

Double Doubles
Emily Tanski and Demi Muses both recorded a double-double last Sunday at UMass Lowell, which marked the third match this season that happened. Tanski has a team-high eight double-doubles, followed by Muses with six. Keelin Severtson recorded her third double-double of 2016 with 55 assists and 10 digs last Friday at Hartford.

The Leaderboard
Tanski has a team-high 196 kills with Muses directly behind her at 195; Muses leads UNH in both kills per set (3.55) and hitting percentage (.304). Severtson is atop the assist leaderboard (726) – no other 'Cat has more than 30 assists – as well as the list of service aces with 35. Senior defensive specialist Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.) is UNH's leader in both digs (230) and digs per set (3.33). Also on the defensive side of the net, Gabri Olhava has a team-best 51 blocks.

Conference Call
UNH is atop the America East conference leaderboard in kills per set (13.03), hitting percentage (.204), assists per set (12.14) and digs per set (16.49). Also of note, the Wildcats are No. 2 in opponent hitting percentage (.182) and No. 3 in service aces (1.44/set).

On the individual leaderboards, Severtson is second in assists per set (10.68) and is third in service aces (0.41); Muses ranks second in points per set (4.09), hitting percentage (.304) and kills per set (3.55), as well as and 10^th in blocks per set (0.76); Carlson is No. 5 in digs per set (3.33), followed by Muses (6^th; 3.29) and Tanski (8^th; 3.06); in other stats, Tanski is No. 7 in points (3.23/set) and No. 9 in kills (2.74/set); Olhava ranks fifth in blocks per set (0.91); Smith is 10^th in points (2.93/set).

She Doesn't Take a Set Off
Tanski is the only Wildcat who has played in all 70 sets. Carlson (69), Severtson (68) and Bowman (66) have also topped 60+ sets played. Muses has played in 55 of 57 sets since missing the first four matches of the season.

3, 4 or 5
Eight of New Hampshire's 19 matches have been decided in straight sets with a record of 5-3. The Wildcats have a 4-5 record in four-set matches and are 2-0 in matches that go the five-set distance.

Binghamton Scout
Binghamton University (Vestal, N.Y.) has an 8-11 overall record that includes 2-3 in America East and 2-2 at home; the Bearcats are 2-1 in conference home matches. Binghamton lost its third consecutive match with a 3-2 setback this past Tuesday at home against Cornell University. Last weekend, the Bearcats went on the road and returned with losses to Stony Brook (3-1) and UMBC (3-0). Binghamton is led by freshman standout Lauren Kornmann, who has a team high in both kills (192) and points (225); she ranks third in blocks with 33. Sophomore outside hitter Gaby Alicea has a team-high 26 service aces and ranks second in kills (147). Sarah Ngo is the primary setter (9.08 assists/set) and Bailey Walker is averaging 4.43 digs per set.

Albany Scout
The University at Albany has an 11-6 overall record that includes 5-0 in America East and 2-0 at home. The Great Danes extended their win streak to nine matches with last Sunday's 3-2 win at Stony Brook; Albany has not been defeated since Sept. 10 at DePaul University (3-1). Senior middle blocker Amanda Dolan, who leads America East in blocks with 79, and senior outside hitter Laini Leindecker, who ranks third in the conference with a team-high 205 kills, are two of Albany's top players; Leindecker is also second on the squad in digs (210) while Dolan ranks third in kills (142). The Great Danes' libero, Nicole Otero, also leads the team and America East in digs (307); she also had a team-high 26 service aces.

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