Petke's Offense, Bowman's Defense Rallies 'Cats Past Albany, 3-2

Friday, September 29

Albany, NY

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-9, 2-0AE

University at Albany

1-13, 1-1AE

UNHVB

UAlbany

Petke's Offense, Bowman's Defense Rallies 'Cats Past Albany, 3-2

9/29/2017 11:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Jereczek Records Double-Double with Career Highs in Assists (49) and Digs (15)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Courtney Bowman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) recorded a career-high 27 digs and Hannah Petke (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) tallied 12 kills on a .423 hitting percentage to lead the University of New Hampshire volleyball team to a 3-2 comeback victory against the University at Albany at University Gym on Friday night.

After dropping the first two sets (14-25, 21-25), UNH rallied to win the last three sets (25-19, 25-18, 15-9) and the match.

Mali Jereczek (Green Bay, Wis.) finished with career highs in both assists (49) and digs (15) to record her first career double-double and quarterback the Wildcats to a .268 hitting percentage, including .325 in Set 3 and .395 in Set 4.

Logan Welti (Middleton, Wis.) also tallied a personal best in digs with 22.

UNH extended its win streak to five matches to improve to 7-9 overall and 2-0 in America East. UAlbany is now 1-13, 1-1.

Up Next

New Hampshire continues its road trip Oct. 1 (1 p.m.) at Binghamton.
The Wildcats' next home game is Oct. 6 (7 p.m.) vs. Stony Brook University.

UNH		UAlbany
63	Kills	52
19	Errors	19
.268	Hitting Pct.	.199
58	Assists	49
9 / 13	Aces / Serve Errors	7 / 8
88	Digs	76
4	Blocks	5

TOP 'CATS

Hannah Petke: 12 kills, .423 hitting percentage, five service aces
Courtney Bowman: 27 digs
Mali Jereczek: 49 assists, 15 digs
Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas): 13 kills, .265 hitting percentage
Gabri Olhava (Mount Prospect, Ill.): 13 kills, .393 hitting percentage
Logan Welti: 22 digs

THE DIFFERENCE

UAlbany's offense was running on all cylinders in the first two sets with hitting percentages of .393 and .267.
UNH's defense held the Great Danes to a .093 hitting percentage in Set 3 to turn the tide, then stymied the UAlbany attack in the decisive fifth set as the home team recorded two kills and three errors for a negative hitting percentage.

SET 1

UAlbany won four of the first five points and build a 12-4 lead, and the Wildcats never got closer than six points the rest of the opening set.

SET 2

UNH took its first lead of the match, 9-8, and also had one-point leads of 13-12 and 17-16.
With the score tied at 18, UAlbany won four consecutive points to surge in front 22-18.
The 'Cats inched within 22-20, but the Great Danes won the next two points to close within set point.
New Hampshire staved off one set point but could not rally as the home team took a 2-0 lead in the match.

SET 3

UAlbany was eying a sweep with a 13-11 lead in the third set, but the Wildcats reeled off five consecutive points, including two kills and a block by Petke, to take a 16-13 lead.
The teams exchanged two-point mini-runs to push the score to 18-15.
Leading 22-19, UNH closed out the set with three consecutive points – kills by Tanski sandwiched around a Petke kill – to extend the match.

SET 4

Trailing 4-3, the 'Cats won four straight points as part of a 6-1 spurt to take a 9-5 lead.
UAlbany closed within two points four times (13-11, 14-12, 15-13, 16-14) but could never get within one point.
New Hampshire reeled off four more points to extend the advantage to 20-14.
Back-to-back kills by Olhava pushed the score to set point, 24-17, and moments later Bowman's kill ended the fourth set.

SET 5

Momentum continued on the side of the Wildcats, as a kill by Molly Wotton (Dover, N.H.), block by Olhava and kill by Petke gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the race to 15.
UAlbany ended that run, but back-to-back kills by Olhava and three consecutive aces by Petke pushed the margin to 8-1.
The Wildcats led by as many as eight points, 12-4, before the Great Danes trimmed the deficit to 12-8.
Tanski quelled that rally with a kill and ace to advance the score to match point, 14-8.
UAlbany fended off one match point but UNH's comeback was completed on the ensuing point with a Great Danes' attack error.

UNH NOTEBOOK

UNH improved to 3-1 in five-set matches and the 'Cats have won each of the last three matches that have gone five sets.
New Hampshire improved to 21-20 lifetime against UAlbany, and the Wildcats are 3-1 the last four matches in Albany.
UNH has a 46-6 record in America East conference play spanning the 2013-17 seasons.
Jereczek's 49 assists are the most by a Wildcat this season.
Bowman's 27 digs are the most by a 'Cat in 2017.
UNH's .268 hitting percentage is a season high, surpassing the mark of .252 against Siena College.
The Wildcats also established match highs in both kills (63) and digs (88).

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.