Championship Game Saturday (4 p.m.) vs. Albany at Lundholm Gym

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS – Final
Saturday, Nov. 19 • Lundholm Gym • Durham, N.H.

#2 Albany (16-9, 9-3 AE) vs. #1 UNH (20-10, 10-2 AE), 4 pm
Video • Stats

Wildcats Win Nine America East Awards

Five UNH Wildcats won a total of nine America East awards at Thursday night's annual conference banquet that was held at the Service Credit Union Victory Club of Wildcat Stadium.
The three selections to the First Team ties the highest in program history that was established in 2000 and matched last season.
Senior captain Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.) was named Setter of the Year for the second consecutive year. She was also an All-Conference First Team selection for the second time in as many years. Severtson also earned a spot on the All-Academic Team.
- Severtson is the first 'Cat and fourth student-athlete to repeat as Setter of the Year. A Wildcat has been tabbed Setter of the Year each of the past three years and four times overall.
Senior middle blocker and captain Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) was a repeat selection as Player of the Year, and she was also named to the All-Conference First Team for the second straight year.
- Muses is just the third player – second Wildcat – in America East history to win consecutive Player of the Year accolades. UNH has won a total of seven Player of the Year awards, including each of the past four years.
Freshman outside hitter Emily Tanski (Plymouth, Mich.) was feted All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie Team.
Sophomore middle blocker Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.) was an All-Conference Second Team selection.
Freshman outside hitter Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas) joined Tanski on the All-Rookie Team.

New Hampshire Wins Three America East Weekly Awards

Keelin Severston was named America East Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week and league-high fifth time this season.
Demi Muses was honored as Player of the Week for a league-high fifth time this season.
Emily Tanski was tabbed Rookie of the Week for the third time.
This marked the third time this season UNH won three weekly awards in a single week – it also happened back-to-back weeks Oct. 4 & 11, the latter of which was the same Wildcat trio as this week.

UNH vs. Albany

New Hampshire has a 19-20 lifetime record, including this year's series split in which both teams won on home court, against Albany.
UNH recorded its second-highest attack percentage of the season (.356) in last Friday's straight-set victory at Lundholm Gym. Box Score • Recap
In the Oct. 16 matchup at University Gym, the Wildcats erased a two-set deficit to force a fifth set but the Great Danes prevailed 18-16. All told, UNH staved off three match points (two in Set 4) and Albany fended off a pair of match points in the fifth set. Box Score • Recap
UNH went 2-1 against the Great Danes last season. The Wildcats toppled Albany in the America East championship match for the second consecutive year with a 3-1 victory last year at Lundholm Gym.

New Hampshire Scout

UNH enters the America East Championship title match with a 20-10 overall record that includes 10-2 in America East and 10-3 at home (7-0 at home vs. America East teams).
New Hampshire won the regular-season title, is top seed and host of the conference tourney for the fourth consecutive year.
The Wildcats extended their season-long win streak to nine matches with last night's 3-0 victory against Binghamton in an America East semifinal matchup.
The 'Cats have won seven consecutive home matches (all vs. America East teams).

UNH went either 2-0 or 0-2 each of the past seven weekends with a 2-0 mark six of the seven.

Tournament History

New Hampshire has won each of the last three America East tournament titles and six overall; the Wildcats also won it all in 1998, 2002 and '03.
This is the fourth consecutive year UNH is host of the tourney.
UNH has a 16-8 overall record in the tourney with a 9-5 record in semifinals and 6-3 in title matches.
All six of New Hampshire's tourney titles have come at home, and the 'Cats are 13-0 in postseason home matches.
The Wildcats have a 4-2 tourney record vs. Albany; UNH has defeated the Great Danes each of the last two years, both by a score of 3-1, in the title game. Albany recorded semifinal wins in '07 and '12, whereas the 'Cats were semifinal winners in '02 and '03.
- 2015 Box Score • Recap
- 2014 Box Score • Recap
New Hampshire's most recent tourney loss was to Albany in the 2012 semifinals.

Inside the Win Streak

During the nine-match win streak, UNH is 7-0 against conference teams, 5-0 at home and 4-0 on the road.
New Hampshire has lost a total of four sets – no more than one set in a match – during the streak; four of the last five matches have been straight-set sweeps.
The Wildcats have a .272 hitting percentage while limiting the opposition to a mark of .113. Also of note, the 'Cats have a 59-38 edge in service aces.
Demi Muses has elevated her game – if that's possible – with averages of 4.39 points, 3.55 kills, 3.90 digs and 0.81 blocks per set. Her other numbers include a .310 hitting percentage and 11 service aces.
Gabri Olhava has been killing it with a .390 hitting percentage; she is averaging 2.61 kills and 0.84 blocks per set.
Keelin Severtson is averaging 11.60 assists per set as well as 1.70 digs/set.

Four Years of 20 Wins

UNH recorded is 20^th victory of the season with last night's sweep of Binghamton University in the semifinals. It is the fourth consecutive year the Wildcats have won 20 or more games. They went 21-9 last year, preceded by 20-12 in '14 and 20-13 in '12.
During the four-year America East regular-season title run, UNH is 81-44 overall (.648) with a mark of 44-6 (.880) in America East; if you include postseason play, the 'Cats have a 51-6 record (.895%) against conference teams since 2012.

Playing the Field

New Hampshire had a 4-2 regular-season record against the 2016 America East Championship tournament field. In comparison, Albany and UMBC were 3-3 and Binghamton went 2-4.

Semifinal Summary

UNH advanced to today's final with last night's 3-0 semifinal victory against Binghamton at Lundholm Gym. The set scores were 25-18, 26-24, 25-10.
In Set 1, the score was tied at 7 when UNH went on a 5-0 run and Binghamton never got closer than three points the rest of the set.
The Bearcats raced out to a 4-0 lead in Set 2. New Hampshire reeled off six straight points to take a 12-7 lead. The visitors chipped away and leveled the score at 18. UNH trailed 22-21, called time out and rallied to win the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The score was also tied at 18 in Set 3. The Wildcats won three consecutive points to prompt a Binghamton timeout, but New Hampshire continued momentum out of the break to extend the lead to 23-18. The Bearcats fended off one match point but then their third service error of the night ended the set and match in favor of UNH.
Box Score • Recap

Last Week's Leaders

UNH won six of seven sets last weekend to dispatch of Albany and Binghamton and claim the America East regular-season title.
Demi Muses averaged 3.43 kills, 3.00 digs and 4.00 points per set last weekend. Her other stats included a .367 hitting percentage, three service aces and two blocks. The senior middle blocker and captain recorded nine kills and a match-high 14 kids, as well as a .389 hitting percentage, against Albany; she followed that with a match-high 15 kills, seven digs and three service aces in the win vs. Binghamton.
Keelin Severtson averaged 11.86 assists and 2.00 digs per set, and orchestrated the Wildcats' offense to a .356 hitting percentage against Albany to mark the second-best effort of the season. The senior captain recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 43 assists and 10 digs in the regular-season finale vs. Binghamton; she also tallied three kills in the match; Severtson also reached the 40 assist mark – with 40 – in the sweep of Albany; she has 40-plus assists 14 times this season.
Emily Tanski averaged 3.14 kills, 2.86 digs and 3.93 points per set in last weekend's matches. Her other stats included a .254 hitting percentage, six blocks and two service aces. The freshman outside hitter recorded 10 kills (second highest in the match), eight digs and four blocks, as well as three assists and a service ace, vs. Albany; Tanski followed that with her 11^th double-double of the season with 12 kills (again, second highest in the match) and 12 digs against Binghamton; she also tallied two blocks and an ace.
Gabri Olhava averaged 2.00 kills and 1.14 blocks per set with a .448 hitting percentage. The sophomore middle blocker tallied six blocks and five kills with a .417 hitting percentage against Albany, then had nine kills and two blocks with a .471 hitting percentage vs. Binghamton.
Kennedi Smith averaged 2.17 kills and 3.29 digs per set last weekend. The freshman outside hitter tallied 11 kills and eight digs with a .364 hitting percentage against Albany; she followed that with eight kills and team-high 15 digs vs. Binghamton; Smith recorded two service aces in both matches.

Double Doubles

Demi Muses has a team-leading 12 double-doubles with seven in 12 America East conference matches.
Emily Tanski is next with 11 double-doubles, five in conference play.
Also of note, Keelin Severtson has six double-doubles – all in assists and digs.

Doubling Down

Demi Muses has recorded double digits in kills in 17 of 26 matches, including eight of the last 11.

Of those 17 double-digit kill efforts, 13 are of 15 or more kills with a season high of 22 against both Idaho State and Albany.
Muses has double digits in digs 11 of the last 13 matches and in 19 of 26 matches overall.
Of those 19 matches, she recorded 15 or more digs nine times. That includes 20+ three times with a season-high 22 at UMass Lowell, as well as a match-high 18 digs in last night's semifinal.

Season Leaderboard

Demi Muses leads UNH in points (403), points per set (4.24), kills (340), kills per set (3.58), hitting percentage (.298), and digs per set (3.57). She also ranks second in digs (339), blocks (76) and blocks per set (0.80).
Keelin Severtson is atop the assist leaderboard (1,168) – no other 'Cat has more than 50 assists – and is second in service aces (36).
Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.) is the team leader in digs (350).
Also on the defensive side of the net, Gabri Olhava has a team-best 83 blocks and is averaging 0.86 per set.
Emily Tanski is second in points (360), points per set (3.27), kills (303) and kills per set (2.75); she has a team-high 38 service aces and ranks third in digs (321) and digs/set (2.92), as well as fourth in blocks (34).

Program Leaderboard

Keelin Severtson enters Saturday's final with 1,168 assists, which is No. 5 on the program's list of single-season superlatives. Just 24 hours ago, Severtson was tied for No. 7 with Katie Weidner (2009) at 1,134. She broke that tie and then surpassed both Taylor Dunklau (1,154 in '13) and No. 5 Katie Uitti (1,156 in '07) with last night's 34-assist effort. Next on the list is No. 4 Stacy Barnett (1,223 in '98).
Severtson is third on UNH's career assist leaderboard with 2,387. Ahead of her is No. 3 Taylor Dunklau (2011-14) with 3,169.
Severtson is also ninth in career service aces with 98. Next on the list are No. 8 Erin Walker (2002-05) with 101 and No. 7 Stacy Barnett (1997-2000) with 104.
Demi Muses has 941 career kills. Lauren Laquerre (2008-11) is 10^th at 963.

Increased Playing Time

Hannah Petke (Rancho Santo Margarita, Calif.) has seen increased playing time the past 10 matches. In last night's semifinal win, Petke recorded eight kills on the strength of a .353 hitting percentage; the lefty was particularly impressive in the second set, when she recorded five kills and a .667 hitting percentage.
The stretch began Oct. 16 at Albany, when she recorded seven kills, eight digs and two blocks vs. the Great Danes.
Petke recorded career highs in both kills (10) and blocks (three) Oct. 22 at Maryland Eastern Shore.
Oct. 30 at UMBC, she tallied seven kills and four digs.
In the Nov. 4-5 weekend, Petke tallied five kills vs. both UMass Lowell and Hartford with a combined .315 hitting percentage.
She matched her high of three blocks and also had eight kills – her second highest total – last Friday night against Albany.

Conference Call

New Hampshire entered postseason play atop the America East conference leaderboard in kills per set (13.26), hitting percentage (.223) and assists per set (12.39), as well as opponent hitting percentage (.166). UNH's hitting percentage is far above the rest of the league; in comparison, No. 2-5 ranges from .197 to .192.
Also of note, the Wildcats are No. 2 in both digs per set (16.46) and service aces (1.58/set).
On the individual leaderboards, Demi Muses averages a league-best 4.29 points per game and 3.64 kills per set. She ranks second in hitting percentage (.307), as well as fifth in digs per set (3.48) and 10^th in blocks per set (0.79).
Keelin Severtson is the assist leader (10.90/set) and is third in service aces/set (0.34) and aces (35).
Emily Tanski is No. 7 in points/set (3.28), No. 9 in kills/set (2.77) and hitting percentage (.229), No. 8 in digs/set (2.97), and No. 4 in aces/set (0.34) with 36 aces.
Gabri Olhava ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.268) and eighth in blocks (0.86/set).
Sara Carlson is seventh in digs per set (3.22).
Kennedi Smith ranks seventh in service aces/set at 0.32.

Top of the Class

Demi Muses and Keelin Severtson were two of 30 candidates nationwide for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in women's volleyball; UNH was one of just three schools with two candidates.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

She Doesn't Take a Set Off

Emily Tanski is the only Wildcat who has played in all 110 sets.
Sara Carlson is next (109), followed by Severtson (107).
Demi Muses has played 95 of 97 sets since missing the first four matches of the season.

3, 4 or 5

Thirteen of New Hampshire's 30 matches have been decided in straight sets with a record of 10-3.
The Wildcats have an 8-6 record in four-set matches and are 2-1 in matches that go the five-set distance.

Jill Hirschinger Reaches Coaching Milestone

UNH head coach Jill Hirschinger recorded her 750^th career victory when the Wildcats prevailed 3-1 at UMBC on Sunday, Oct. 30.
Of her 754 career wins, 345 have been in 21 years as UNH head coach.
Hirschinger is one of 12 active volleyball coaches with at least 750 wins.

Looking Back at the Crystal Ball

Despite winning three consecutive regular-season and tournament titles with the 2015 co-Player of the Year (Demi Muses) and 2015 Setter of the Year (Keelin Severtson) returning, UNH was picked second in the 2016 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Aug. 17.
The Wildcats received just one first-place vote and 30 points to place behind Albany (35 points, five first-place votes).
Stony Brook University, which did not advance to postseason play, received the other first-place vote and 26 points.
Binghamton (22), UMBC (17), Hartford (10) and UMass Lowell (7) completed the poll.

Selection Show Sunday

The winner of the America East Championship has to wait until Sunday, Nov. 27 for the NCAA selection show, which will be televised on ESPNU at 9 p.m.

Albany Scout

Albany (15-9 overall, 9-3 AE, 6-4 road, 5-3 neutral) ended the regular season with back-to-back losses to UMBC and UNH to slip to the No. 2 seed.
Prior to that, the Great Danes won 13 of 14 matches, including a 10-match win streak.
Albany leads the America East in blocks thanks to senior middle blocker Amanda Dolan, who is first in the conference with 1.22 blocks per set, and junior middle blocker Taylor Robinson, who is third in the category with 1.06 b/s.
The Great Danes also lead the conference in digs with 16.80 digs per set, with sophomore libero Nicole Otero being second in the conference with 4.93 d/s.

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