Postseason Continues with NIVC First Round vs. Tulane (Dec. 6 at Colgate)

Friday, December 6

Hamilton, N.Y.

4 PM

University of New Hampshire

Tulane University

Photo by: Andrew Yourell

Postseason Continues with NIVC First Round vs. Tulane (Dec. 6 at Colgate)

12/4/2019 4:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

UNH VOLLEYBALL

National Invitational Volleyball Championship
NIVC Tournament Central

FIRST ROUND
Friday, Dec. 6
Cotterell Court ~ Hamilton, N.Y.
UNH (17-9, 7-3 AE) vs. Tulane (21-10, 10-6 AAC) ~ 4 p.m. ~ Video ~ Stats
Boston College at Colgate ~ 7 p.m.

SECOND ROUND
Saturday, Dec. 7 ~ 7 p.m.
First round winners ~ Video ~ Stats

HOW WE GOT HERE

UNH earned a berth in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship on the strength of its regular-season, which included a 17-8 record and second-place finish in the America East standings at 7-3.

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

The winner of the Colgate portion of the bracket advances to Round 3 against the winner of the Bowling Green region [Bowling Green, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Miami (Ohio) and Texas Christian]. That third round match will be played between Dec. 9-12 at one of the competing schools.

UNH vs. TULANE

Friday will be the first ever matchup between the New Hampshire and Tulane volleyball programs.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE • Home Page • Schedule • Roster • Stats

UNH has a 17-9 overall record that includes 7-3 in America East and 5-2 at neutral sites.
The Wildcats were ousted from the 2019 America East Championships with a 3-2 loss to the University of Hartford in the semifinals.
New Hampshire won seven of its last 10 regular-season matches.
The 'Cats have a 5-1 record in five-set matches this season – the one loss was in the conference tournament – and have a 7-5 mark in straight-set matches.
UNH has won the first set in 18 of 26 matches.

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES

Five UNH Wildcats received America East all-conference accolades on the eve of the semifinals.
Senior right side hitter and captain Hannah Petke (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) was voted to the All-Conference First Team.
Senior outside hitter and captain Kennedi Smith (The Woodlands, Texas) and sophomore middle blocker Abby Sullivan (Methuen, Mass.) were named to the Second Team.
Freshman right side hitter Erin Hedrick (Montvale, N.J.) and freshman setter Wren Macaulay (Lake Orion, Mich.) were All-Rookie Team honorees.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

This is UNH's first appearance in the NIVC.
The National Invitational Volleyball Championship was reincarnated in 2017; the NIVC originally ran from 1989-95.
Much like the WNIT and NIT events in college basketball, the NIVC taps into the impressive depth of D-I volleyball and is designed to give more high-performing, highly-skilled programs a chance to play for a postseason title.

RETURN TO COTTERELL COURT

This will be UNH's second trip this season for a tournament at Colgate University.
The Wildcats went 2-1 at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament that was held Nov. 13-14.
UNH was defeated by Rutgers University (3-0) on the opening day, then responded with a 3-1 win against both Colgate and Quinnipiac University.

CLIMBING UP THE DIGS LIST

Senior libero Emily Tanski ascended to No. 2 on the program's all-time digs list Nov. 3 with the ninth of her 14 kills vs. UAlbany.
She now has 1,487 career digs. UNH's all-time record of 1,657 digs is held by Madison Lightfoot.

1,000 KILLS & POINTS MILESTONES

Senior outside hitter Kennedi Smith became the ninth UNH Wildcat to reach 1,000 career kills Oct. 26 with the third of her 12 kills at Dartmouth. She enters the weekend No. 7 on the program's career leaderboard with 1,083. Ahead of her on the career leaderboard is No. 6 Morgan Thatcher (1,168).
Smith became the 17^th UNH Wildcat to record 1,000 career points Sept. 5 vs. Seattle. She enters the weekend at No. 8 with 1,268. Ahead of Smith on the list is No. 7 Morgan Thatcher at 1,322.

ASSIST LIST

Junior setter Emma Patlovich became the fifth Wildcat to reach the 2,000-assist milestone with the sixth of her 27 assists last Friday at Stony Brook.
Patlovich enters the NIVC tourney with 2,074 career assists.
No. 4 on UNH's list is Keelin Severtson (2,449).

SERVING ACES

Kennedi Smith entered another Top 10 list Nov. 1. With two service aces against UMBC, Smith increased her career total to 96 to climb to 10^th on the program's all-time leaderboard.
Smith tallied two aces Nov. 15 at Stony Brook and two more in the regular-season finale at Hartford to reach the 100 milestone.
Emily Tanski climbed past Smith the last weekend of the regular season with three aces against both SBU and Hartford to increase her career number to 102.
Tanski is currently No. 8 on New Hampshire's career leaderboard. Ahead of her are No. 7 Stacy Barnett (104) and No. 6 Tori Forrest (106).
Smith added an ace in the conference tourney to climb into a tie with Erin Walker at No. 9 (101 aces).

BLOCK PARTY

Sophomore Abby Sullivan has 114 blocks this season and that total is No. 7 on the program's list of single-season superlatives.
Next on the list is No. 6 Beth Cole (128 in 1999).
Senior Hannah Petke is second on this year's squad with 89.

WILDCAT LEADERBOARD

Senior outside hitter Kennedi Smith is UNH's leader in points (312) and points per set (3.18) as well as kills (263) and kills per set (2.68). Smith is also second in digs (238) and digs per set (2.43), and third in service aces (29).
Senior right side hitter Hannah Petke has a team-best .301 hitting percentage and ranks second in points (308), points per set (3.14), kills (260), kills per set (2.65), blocks (89) and blocks per set (0.91).
Sophomore middle blocker Abby Sullivan is UNH's leader in blocks (114) and blocks per set (1.16). She ranks second in hitting percentage (.291), and she ranks third in points (268.5) and points per set (2.74) as well as kills (206) and kills per set (2.10).
Senior libero Emily Tanski has a team-high 405 digs and her 4.13 per set is also tops on the team.
The setting duties have been split between junior Emma Patlovich and freshman Wren Macaulay. Patlovich is averaging 5.35 assists per set and Macaulay is at 4.07.
Macualay, with five service aces each of the last three regular-season matches, has climbed to the top of the leaderboard with 37 aces. Patlovich is fifth with 25.
Senior Logan Welti ranks second on the squad with 32 service aces and she ranks third in digs (230) and digs per set (2.35).

CONFERENCE CALL

New Hampshire leads the America East conference in winning percentage (.654) and service aces (1.63 per set).
The Wildcats rank second in blocks per set (2.39) and opponent hitting percentage (.199).
Abby Sullivan is atop the conference leaderboard in total blocks (114), No. 2 in blocks per set (1.16) and No. 6 in hitting percentage (.296).
Emily Tanski ranks second in the league in digs per set at 4.13, as well as 10th in service aces per set (0.27).
Hannah Petke ranks fourth in America East in hitting percentage (.301) and seventh in blocks per set (0.91), as well as ninth in both points/set (3.14) and kills/set (2.65). And in conference-only matches, she finished atop the leaderboard in hitting percentage at .384.
Kennedi Smith is No. 8 both points per set (3.18) and kills per set (2.68). She is No. 9 in digs per set (2.43) and tied for seventh in service aces per set (0.30).
Logan Welti is 10th in digs per set (2.35) and No. 6 in service aces per set (0.33).
Wren Macaulay is No. 3 in service aces (0.38 per set).

SETTING STANDARDS

This year's New Hampshire team has the most wins through 20 matches in program history with 14 victories; the previous best of 13 was most recently done in 2015 and previously happened in 2007, 2001, 1997 and 1984.
The Wildcats recorded their 10^th win in match #13, which marked the second-fastest that UNH reached 10 victories; the 1975 squad reached double digits in 12 matches.
UNH's 10-4 record marked the best start to a season since the 1978 squad was also 10-4 through 14 matches.

REGULAR-SEASON FINALE WEEKEND

Hannah Petke averaged 4.56 points, 4.22 kills and 0.56 blocks per set as she had two of her top performances of the year in the last weekend of the regular season. Petke finished with season highs of 21 kills (on a .528 hitting percentage) and 22 points at Hartford on Nov. 17. Two days earlier, Petke tallied 17 kills (.400 hitting percentage) and 19 points at Stony Brook.
Kennedi Smith recorded a pair of double-doubles last week with 22.5 points (matching her career high) and 11 digs at Stony Brook, followed by 16 kills (.400 hitting percentage) and 10 digs. Smith averaged 4.56 points per set on the strength of 4.00 kills per set. Her other stats included 2.33 digs per set, a .337 hitting percentage, four service aces and two blocks.
Emma Patlovich averaged 5.89 assists and 3.11 digs per set. She recorded a pair of double-doubles on the week with 27 assists and career-high 17 digs at Stony Brook, followed by 26 assists and 11 digs at Hartford. In the decisive fifth set at SBU, Patlovich tallied seven digs and led the 'Cats to a .324 hitting percentage to help New Hampshire get the win.
Emily Tanski averaged 4.00 digs per set last weekend and also contributed offensively with six service aces (three each match) and 14 assists (seven in both matches). The three aces matched her season high, while the seven assists put her one short of her career high. Tanski helped UNH capture Set 5 at Stony Brook with nine digs and two aces in that decisive set.
Wren Macaulay recorded averages of 4.00 assists per set, 1.56 digs per set and 1.11 service aces per set. Her overall numbers included 36 assists, 10 aces, 14 digs and three kills (on a .429 hitting percentage). Macaulay finished with 23 assists and was one dig short of a double-double in the five-set win at SBU; she also served five aces. She matched that ace total at Hartford.
New Hampshire served a season-high 14 aces last Sunday at Hartford; it surpassed the mark of 13 established the previous match at Stony Brook; the 'Cats tallied double digits in aces one other time (10 vs. UAlbany).
UNH's .358 team hitting percentage at Hartford was the Wildcats' fifth-highest mark of the season, and the second-best against an America East conference opponent (trailed only .386 vs. Stony Brook on Oct. 20).
The Wildcats' 61 kills was the third-highest match total of the season; the 'Cats tallied more kills vs. Loyola (67) and Albany (62; at home Nov. 3).
UNH's 91 digs at SBU last Friday marked the second-highest total of the year (92 vs. Loyola).

PETKE POWERS UNH PAST BINGHAMTON (Friday, November 8)

Hannah Petke recorded a match-high 11 kills and just one error on 18 attacks for a .556 hitting percentage in UNH's 3-0 win at Binghamton University on Nov. 8.
Petke was nearly perfect in the last two sets. She had four kills on six swings in Set 2 and five kills on seven attacks in Set 3.
Bre Smith also had a strong performance at the net with six blocks (0-6-6) and four kills with no errors on six attacks for a .667 hitting percentage. Smith fueled the Wildcats to a strong start in Set 1 with two kills and three blocks.
Emma Patlovich recorded 18 assists (6.00 per set) to help direct UNH to a .325 team hitting percentage against the Bearcats.
Emily Tanski finished with a match-high nine digs (3.00 per set) to backbone a Wildcats' defensive effort that limited Binghamton to a .143 hitting percentage. She was consistent with three digs each set.
Wren Macaulay and Logan Welti combined for all eight of UNH's service aces. Macaulay tallied a career-high five and Welti recorded three. Macaulay also had 10 assists and three digs, while Welti had five digs.

RETURN TO SENDER

UNH recorded a season-high 16 blocks in the 3-2 win vs. UAlbany (Nov. 3) as four Wildcats finished with 5+ blocks.
It was the most blocks by a UNH team since Oct. 13, 2012, when the Wildcats recorded 17 blocks against Hartford (in a five-set loss).
Bre Smith led the way with a career-high eight blocks (1 solo, 7 assisted).
Abby Sullivan tallied seven assisted blocks.
Hannah Petke and Erin Hedrick both finished with five assisted blocks.
New Hampshire has recorded double-digit blocks eight times this season.

SULLIVAN'S STELLAR WEEKEND

Abby Sullivan averaged 4.06 points per set in two matches the weekend of Nov. 1 & 3 (vs. UMBC and UAlbany). She recorded 3.38 kills per set on a .262 hitting percentage and also averaged 1.25 blocks per set.
Sullivan recorded a career-high 16 kills with a .281 hitting percentage vs. UMBC. She also had three blocks (one solo, two assisted) for a personal best of 18 points.
Sullivan followed that with 11 kills and seven blocks in the five-set win vs. UAlbany. In the decisive fifth set, she recorded a kill on each of the first two points to ignite the 'Cats to a 7-1 lead; Sullivan also closed out the match with a kill.

SETTING THEM UP

Wren Macaulay tallied a career- and team-high 26 assists in UNH's 3-2 home win against UAlbany (Nov. 3). It marked her sixth 20+ assist effort of the season.

QUINTIPLE DOUBLE

Five Wildcats recorded double-digit kills Nov. 3 vs. UAlbany. Hannah Petke led the way with 14 and was followed by Erin Hedrick (12), Abby Sullivan (11), Kennedi Smith (11) and Katie Jablonski (10).

NEW ERA OF UNH VOLLEYBALL WITH CHRISTOPHER FELICIANO

Christopher Feliciano enters his first year as UNH head coach after eight years at Rider University. Assistant coach Ashley Tennant and graduate assistant Tiffany Verni join him on the staff.
CLICK HERE to watch the "Meet the Coaches" video

SCOUTING TULANE | Tulane volleyball website

Tulane University (New Orleans, La.) has a 21-10 overall record that includes 10-6 in the American Athletic Conference and 5-1 at neutral sites.
Tulane tied for second in the AAC West Division and advanced to the conference semifinals as the #5 seed.
The Green Wave made a run to the 2018 NIVC title game, where they lost to Iowa State.
Tulane won four of its last five regular-season matches.
Junior outside hitter Lexie Douglas and sophomore middle hitter Kayla Dinkins were All-AAC First Team selections.

SCOUTING COLGATE | Colgate volleyball website

Colgate University (Hamilton, N.Y.) has a 22-7 overall record that includes 9-2 at home.
The Raiders went 15-1 in the Patriot League but lost in the conference semifinals to Army, 3-1, on Nov. 23.
Colgate ended the regular season on a six-match win streak.
The Raiders had a nine-match win streak spanning Sept. 27 to Oct. 25.
Head coach Ryan Baker was named Patriot League Coach of the Year; Alli Lowe was Player of the Year; Lowe was joined on the First Team by Julia Kurowski.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE | BC volleyball website

Boston College has a 20-11 overall record that includes 11-7 in the ACC and 6-2 at neutral sites.
BC matched its all-time program win record; the Eagles last reached the 20-win mark in 2004.
Amaka Chukwujekwu was an All-ACC Second Team honoree.

WILDCAT ACCOLADES

Hannah Petke – America East All-Conference First Team
Kennedi Smith – America East All-Conference Second Team … America East Player of the Week (Oct. 22)
Abby Sullivan – America East All-Conference Second Team
Wren Macaulay – America East All-Rookie Team… America East Rookie of the Week (Sept. 17 … Oct. 22 … Oct. 29)
Erin Hedrick – America East All-Rookie Team
Emily Tanski – America East Defensive Specialist of the Week, three times (Sept. 3 … Sept. 10 … Sept. 24 … Oct. 22)