'Cats Play Northeastern in Home Opener (Sept. 11) on ESPN+

Tuesday, Sept. 11 • Lundholm Gymnasium • Durham, N.H.
Northeastern (4-5) at UNH (4-6), 7 pm • ESPN+ • Stats • Tickets

UNH vs. NORTHEASTERN

New Hampshire has a 24-22 lifetime record against Northeastern University and that includes last year's 3-2 loss at Cabot Center in Boston. The set scores were 25-20, 21-15, 26-28, 25-13, 15-12. Recap • Box
With the score tied 4-4 in the decisive fifth set, NU reeled off eight consecutive points to take a commanding 12-4 lead. UNH responded with four straight points as part of a 6-1 run that trimmed the margin to 13-10. The Wildcats then fought off two match points but succumbed on the third.
Kennedi Smith recorded a double-double (15 kills, 17 digs) while Gabri Olhava finished with 14 kills and six blocks.
NU was led by Natalie Shollin (15k, five blocks), Athena Ardila (14k, 15 digs), Samantha Shupe (37 assists, 14d) and Gabrielle Tschannen (nine kills, nine blocks).
NU prevailed 3-1 the last time these teams met in Durham (Sept. 20, 2016). Recap
The Huskies have won seven of the last eight meetings; UNH's victory in that span was Sept. 1, 2015, in five sets at Northeastern.

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Tickets for all home matches are available at unhwildcats.com, the box office or by calling (603) 862-4000, as well as game day at the box office

HOME OPENER

Tuesday's match vs. Northeastern in the 2018 home opener for the Wildcats.
UNH has a 5-5 record the past 10 home openers, and that includes 0-2 against Northeastern; 3-1 loss in 2014 and a 3-2 loss in '12.
New Hampshire lost its home opener each of the past four even-numbered years – 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS

UNH went 3-1 last week with a 1-1 record in road matches and 2-0 at neutral sites.
The week began with a 3-2 victory Sept. 4 at Bryant University (Smithfield, R.I.) in which the Wildcats overcame a two-set deficit.
UNH returned to the state of Rhode Island for the 11^th Annual Art Carmichael Invitational at URI. The 'Cats fell 3-1 to the host team in last Friday's opener, but responded with a 3-1 win against previously unbeaten Yale and a 3-2 victory Saturday vs. Army West Point.
Gabri Olhava amassed 67 kills (3.72/set) on a .392 hitting percentage in the four matches. All three of those numbers led the Wildcats, as did her 14 blocks and 0.78 blocks per set.
Maddie Wiedenfeld totaled 52 kills (2.89 per set) on a .281 hitting percentage and also had 13 blocks; all those stats ranked second on the team. Her standout match came against Yale with 13 kills on a .522 hitting percentage, as well as six blocks.
Emma Patlovich quarterbacked UNH's offense to a .209 hitting percentage in four matches last week with a total of 175 assists (9.72 per set). She also had a team-high seven service aces and ranked third in digs with 36 (2.00 per set). Patlovich was efficient in her decision to attack, as she had eight kills and just one error on 16 attacks for a .438 hitting percentage.
Emily Tanski tallied 73 digs (4.06 per set) to backbone UNH's defensive effort. She recorded 20+ digs in consecutive matches against Rhode Island (21) and Yale (25). Tanksi's effort against Yale helped limit the Bulldogs to a .155 hitting percentage as the Wildcats handed Yale its first loss of the year.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

Gabri Olhava had a day for the record books on Saturday, when she recorded 40 kills (4.44 per set) on a .403 hitting percentage and also had four blocks. At the end of the day, she was named to the Art Carmichael Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Olhava began the day with a career-high 20 kills and just one error on 31 attacks for a .613 hitting percentage in the four-set win against Yale.
Approximately three hours later, she returned to the court and recorded 20 more kills on a .244 hitting percentage in the five-set victory vs. Army West Point.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE • schedule • stats • news • roster

UNH enters Tuesday's match vs. Northeastern with a 4-6 overall record and two-match win streak.
Three of the last five matches have gone five sets, including Saturday's win against Army in which the 'Cats prevailed 15-12 in Set 5. New Hampshire overcame a 2-0 deficit to upend Bryant (15-11 in Set 5) last Tuesday, and on Saturday, Sept. 1, UNH erased a 2-0 deficit but fell in the fifth set to Iona College (21-19).
The Wildcats are one year removed from a stretch of four consecutive America East regular-season and tournament titles – as well as four straight NCAA tourney appearances. Head coach Jill Hirschinger, a six-time America East Coach of the Year, looks to lead the Wildcats back to the top in 2018.
Included among the 15 returning 'Cats are five America East conference award winners – senior middle blocker Gabri Olhava and junior hitter Kennedi Smith on the First Team, junior hitter Hannah Petke on the Second Team, sophomore setter Emma Patlovich on the All-Rookie Team, and senior setter Mali Jereczek on the All-Academic Team.
UNH was picked second in the 2018 America East Volleyball Preseason Poll.

HOME SWEET HOME

New Hampshire has a 48-15 home record the past five years for a .762 winning percentage. The Wildcats were 7-3 at Lundholm Gym last season.

DOUBLING UP

Emma Patlovich recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 43 assists and 12 digs vs. Yale.
Kennedi Smith has three double-doubles; the most recent was Sept. 7 at URI with 13 kills and 19 digs.
Hannah Petke is the only other 'Cat with a double-double in '18; she finished with 11 kills and 11 digs at UConn on Aug. 31.

PUT ME IN, COACH

Four Wildcats enter the weekend having played all 42 sets this season – Olhava, Patlovich, Tanski and Logan Welti.
Two other 'Cats – Smith and Wiedenfeld – have played in 41 of 42 sets.

'CATS ON THE ATTACK

Gabri Olhava, a second-year captain, leads UNH in kills (135), kills/set (3.21), attacks (297), hitting percentage (.343), points (153) and points/set (3.65). She is second in blocks (27) and blocks/set (0.64).
Maddie Wiedenfeld has a team-high 32 blocks and her 0.78 blocks/set is also atop the leaderboard. She ranks second in kills (112), kills/set (2.73), attacks (279), hitting percentage (.254), points (129) and points/set (3.15).
Kennedi Smith is third in kills (75) with an average of 1.83 kills per set.

READY TO ASSIST

Emma Patlovich has been UNH's primary setter through 10 matches with a total of 403 assists for an average of 9.60 per set. She also ranks second on the squad in service aces with 11.
Patlovich has recorded 40+ assists in 7 of 10 matches, including each of the last five. The current streak began with a career high of 49 vs. Iona (Sept. 1). She followed that with 47 at Bryant, 43 against both URI and Yale, and 42 vs. Army.

MAKING A DEFENSIVE STAND

Emily Tanski, a junior who was All-Conference First Team in 2016, is transitioning from the front line to the back row this season and has become the Wildcats' primary libero.
Tanski was named America East Defensive Specialist of the Week each of the first two weeks of the season.
She has amassed 225 digs –100+ more than the closest teammate (Kennedi Smith, 117) – for an average of 5.36 digs per set.

SERVING IT UP

Logan Welti is UNH's leader with 13 service aces. Emma Patlovich is next with 11.

CONFERENCE CALL

New Hampshire leads America East in opponent hitting percentage (.217).
The Wildcats are second in assists (11.52/set) and digs (15.45/set).
UNH ranks third in kills (12.10/set), hitting percentage (.192) and blocks (1.79/set).
Gabri Olhava is atop the conference leaderboard in hitting percentage (.343), as well as fourth in both kills/set (3.21) and points/set (3.65), and 10^th in blocks/set (0.64).
Maddie Wiedenfeld is No. 6 in blocks/set (0.78), No. 7 in hitting percentage (.254), No. 9 in both kills/set (2.73) and points/set (3.15).
Emma Patlovich is No. 3 in assists per set (9.60) and ninth in aces/set (0.26).
Logan Welti is tied for No. 1 in service aces (13) and is No. 4 in aces per set (0.31).
Emily Tanski is atop the leaderboard in digs per set (5.36).

HIRSCHINGER'S HISTORY

Jill Hirschinger began her UNH tenure in the 1996 season. She has amassed a 363-319 record with 10 seasons of 20+ wins.
Hirschinger has been named America East Coach of the Year six times.

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN • website

Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) travels to Durham with a 4-5 record and a two-match win streak.
The Huskies won two matches on Sept. 8, the first against Central Connecticut by a score of 3-1, and the second against Fairfield was also decided by a score of 3-1.
Their offense is led by freshman Hannah Boyd with 97 kills (4.36 per set). Sophomore Athena Ardila and junior Natalie Shollin supplement the offense with 67 and 56 kills, respectively.
Sophomore setter Samantha Shupe leads the team in assists with 310 (10.00/set).
Gabrielle Eyl has a team-high 106 digs (5.30 per set).
Gabrielle Tschannen leads a quintet of Huskies in double-digit blocks with 20.

2018 AMERICA EAST AWARDS

Emily Tanski: Defensive Specialist of the Week (Aug. 28 … Sept. 5)

Maddie Wiedenfeld: Rookie of the We

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