Severtson Directs 'Cats to Fourth Consecutive America East Title

Saturday, November 19

4 PM

University of New Hampshire

21-10, 10-2AE

University at Albany

16-10, 9-3AE

UAlbany

UNH

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

Severtson Directs 'Cats to Fourth Consecutive America East Title

11/19/2016 7:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Video Highlights America East Photo Album

UNH defeats Albany 3-0 in Saturday's Championship Match

DURHAM, N.H. – Led by Most Outstanding Player Keelin Severtson (Delray Beach, Fla.), the University of New Hampshire volleyball team made history Saturday afternoon by winning a fourth consecutive America East Championship title with a 3-0 victory against the University at Albany at Lundholm Gymnasium. The set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-18.

New Hampshire, the tourney's top seed with a 10-2 conference record, won its 10^th consecutive match to improve to 21-10 overall and become the first program to win four consecutive tournament titles. UNH has won seven titles overall, which is also an America East record.

The Wildcats' draw in the NCAA tournament will be revealed during the Nov. 27 selection show that will be televised on ESPNU at 9 p.m.

Severtson, a senior setter, was joined on the All-Championship by classmates Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) and Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.). UNH junior Courtney Bowman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) was named recipient of the Elite 17 award, which is presented to the student-athlete in the championship match with the highest GPA; Bowman has a mark of 3.76 as an occupational therapy major.

Albany ends the season at 16-10; the Great Danes went 9-3 in conference play to earn the No. 2 seed.

New Hampshire Team Stats
41 kills / 17 errors / .209 hitting percentage
40 assists
5 services aces / 4 service errors
48 digs
6 blocks (including three solo)

Albany Team Stats
32 kills / 25 errors / .060 hitting percentage
29 assists
4 service aces / 2 service errors
52 digs
5 blocks (including one solo)

UNH Individual Leaders
Keelin Severtson: 34 assists, six digs, two service aces, two blocks
Demi Muses: 10 kills, 10 digs, .227 hit%, three blocks
Sara Carlson: 13 digs, one service ace
Emily Tanski (Plymouth, Mich.): seven kills, .214 hit%, two aces, four assists
Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.): six kills, .286 hit%, two blocks

Albany Individual Leaders
Chloe Evering: nine kills, two blocks
Akuabata Okenwa: nine kills
Mikala McCauley: 27 assists
Nicole Otero: 16 digs
Laini Leindecker: five kills, 10 digs

Up Next: NCAA tournament selection show, Nov. 27 (9 p.m.) on ESPNU

THE DIFFERENCE

UNH won a back-and-forth first set, then built early leads the next two sets and kept the Great Danes at bay the rest of the way to win the title.
UNH recorded a team hitting percentage of .209 while limiting Albany to .060, and that included .062 in Set 2 and a negative hitting percentage (-.041) in Set 3.
Severtson quarterbacked a balance attack that featured five Wildcats recording between 6-10 kills.

SET 1

There were 12 tie scores and five lead changes.
UNH jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held an 8-4 lead before Albany reeled off six consecutive points, including back-to-back Gabrielle Hansen service aces, to take a 10-8 lead.
The set tightened up as the teams were deadlocked at 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. There were also tie scores at 18, 19 and 20.
That's when consecutive kills by Emily Tanski gave the Wildcats a 22-20 lead. Albany called time out and Taylor Robinson's kill trimmed the deficit to one point.
UNH regained a two-point cushion on a Great Danes' attack error, then advanced the score to set point, 24-21 on Tanski's service ace.
Another Robinson kill extended the set, but then Hannah Petke (Ranco Santa Margarita, Calif.) put the set away with her first of seven kills in the match.

SET 2

Albany won the opening point on a kill by Akuabata Okenwa, but the Wildcats went on a 5-0 run – fueled by kills from Gabri Olhava, Petke and Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas ) – to take a lead they would not surrender.
The Great Danes called time out at 10-5, but the 'Cats went on a 5-2 spurt to force the visitors to use their last timeout at 15-7.
Albany won the next three points, but UNH responded by winning four of the next five points to establish a 19-11 lead.
The Wildcats extended the margin to double digits, 22-12. The Great Danes went on a 4-0 run and then fought off two set points, but they succumbed on a kill by Tanski.

SET 3

UNH raced out to a 5-1 lead but Albany rallied to tie the score at 6.
The 'Cats won five consecutive points – including a Petke kill and combined block by Muses and Severtson – to build an 11-6 advantage, and the Great Danes got no closer than three points the rest of the way.
Albany was within three points, 13-10, when New Hampshire went on a 4-1 run (two kills by Tanski and another by Muses) to prompt the visitors to call their last timeout.
Tanski drilled a service ace out of the break to extend the lead to 18-11.
The seniors closed out the set – and match – as Muses recorded a solo block for the 22^nd point and kill for point 23. Muses then served and set up Severtson for a kill, and then Olhava's kill sent the Wildcats into celebration.

'CAT NIPS

UNH became the first team since 2011 to sweep both America East tournament matches.
In addition to the 2013-16 seasons, the Wildcats also won the tourney title in 1998, 2002 and 2003.
Severtson recorded 34 assists in both the final and semifinal match vs. Binghamton University. She also contributed 13 digs, three aces and six kills.
Muses tallied her 13^th double-double of the season with her 10 kills and 10 digs in the title match. She tallied a match-high 18 digs in Friday's semifinal and three blocks in both matches.
Carlson, in her first year with the volleyball team after being a four-year letterwinner on the UNH women's ice hockey team, recorded a team-high 13 digs vs. Albany and finished the tourney with 22.
New Hampshire has won 20 or more games every year during its four-year reign. The Wildcats won 20 in both '13 and '14 followed by 21 a year ago.
Eleven of UNH's 21 wins have been straight-set sweeps.
During the 10-match win streak, UNH is 8-0 against conference teams and 6-0 at home. The 'Cats have lost a total of four sets during the streak, and five of the last six matches have been sweeps.

2016 America East All-Championship Team
UNH – Keelin Severtson (MOP)
UNH – Demi Muses
UNH – Sara Carlson
Albany - Laini Leindecker
Albany – Nicole Otero
Binghamton – Gabriela Alicea
UMBC – Zoya Trendafilova

For the most up-to-date information on the volleyball team, visit UNHWildcats.com. For additional information on the UNH volleyball team, like the squad on Facebook or follow the 'Cats on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @UNHVOLLEYBALL.