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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Abby Sullivan (18) and the Wildcats take on Tulane on Friday in the NIVC. (Michelle Bronner photo)
12/5/2019 8:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball, UNH Insider
'Cats Face Tulane on Friday in NIVC Tourney
DURHAM, N.H. – Chris Feliciano's first season as head coach for the University of New Hampshire volleyball team went well.
Then it got better.
The Wildcats accepted a bid to the NIVC – the National Invitational Volleyball Championship – allowing them to keep their season alive and seek another title.
Now comes the fun part.
UNH takes on the team that Feliciano labels the favorite in a four-team bracket that he calls the toughest of the brackets in the 32-team field.
The Wildcats face Tulane, which has a 21-10 overall record and was 10-6 in the American Conference this fall.
The teams square off at 4 p.m. Friday in Hamilton, N.Y. in the first match of a bracket hosted by Colgate University. Boston College and Colgate play at 7 p.m. in Friday's nightcap.
Friday's winners play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, also at Colgate, to determine which team moves on to the third round of the championships.
"I believe Tulane is the favorite in the bracket, at least in my eyes," Feliciano said. "You like Colgate because Colgate's home. But Tulane has been playing against Top 50 programs throughout the course of the year. I think they have four in their conference that they see twice a year so they're playing at a different level of ball."
Feliciano has taken teams against all three clubs in the last few years. His teams played both Tulane and Boston College while he was at Rider. UNH played in a tournament at Colgate this year and knocked off the Raiders, 3-1, with scores of 26-24, 27-25, 18-25 and 25-16.
Tulane is the first order of business.
"They're big, they're physical, they're fast," Feliciano said. "But they're also human. If we focus on playing our type of volleyball, passing the ball well, setting tempo, I think we'll be very competitive. Any time you can be very competitive versus a team like Tulane who's in the top 100 in RPI, it's a positive thing. That's what we want to be able to do and that's what we've done the entire season. We want to put our best foot forward and always go after it in a positive way."
The approach led the Wildcats to a 17-9 overall record and a 7-3 mark in America East that earned them the No. 2 seed in the tournament. They fell to Hartford, 3-2, in the semifinals.
It was a transition year in which seven newcomers, not counting a new coaching staff, mixed with seven returning players.
"Everything was new to everybody," Feliciano said. "It's not like the seven players who returned knew what was going to happen. They had to adjust with the newer players as well so we all had to do it together. There's still room for growth on both ends. The staff's not perfect. We're working on creating this culture that's very positive and for the most part we've done that. But we all learn together, which I think has kind of helped us along the year to finish 17-9. We were always on the same page and were able to kind of grind our way through it."
Along the way to 17-9 and the runner-up finish during the regular season, five Wildcats earned postseason league honors.
Senior Hannah Petke was named to the America East All Conference first team and senior Kennedi Smith and sophomore Abby Sullivan made the second team. Freshman Erin Hedrick and Wren Macaulay were named All-Rookie.
Friday, and perhaps beyond, they and their teammates get a chance to play again.
"It's an exciting opportunity," Feliciano said. "Obviously the focus moving forward is to win the America East and go to the postseason as an NCAA automatic bid. But, this is a transition year and our program has done a fantastic job in adjusting to new systems and new culture and just a new way of doing things. . . . That's not just the players, not just the staff. It's everyone from administration to our athletic trainer to our strength coach to our academic advisors. This is definitely something UNH should celebrate because it involves everybody."
Bottom line: The Wildcats are still playing.
"We're one of 96 teams left in the country playing volleyball," Feliciano said. "We're playing a meaningful volleyball match in December. That's what we all signed up for when we decided to play Division I athletics. We're playing in a very competitive bracket. I think we have probably the most competitive bracket in the tournament. I definitely feel whoever comes out of our bracket will be in the final four of the tournament."
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
Then it got better.
The Wildcats accepted a bid to the NIVC – the National Invitational Volleyball Championship – allowing them to keep their season alive and seek another title.
Now comes the fun part.
UNH takes on the team that Feliciano labels the favorite in a four-team bracket that he calls the toughest of the brackets in the 32-team field.
The Wildcats face Tulane, which has a 21-10 overall record and was 10-6 in the American Conference this fall.
The teams square off at 4 p.m. Friday in Hamilton, N.Y. in the first match of a bracket hosted by Colgate University. Boston College and Colgate play at 7 p.m. in Friday's nightcap.
Friday's winners play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, also at Colgate, to determine which team moves on to the third round of the championships.
"I believe Tulane is the favorite in the bracket, at least in my eyes," Feliciano said. "You like Colgate because Colgate's home. But Tulane has been playing against Top 50 programs throughout the course of the year. I think they have four in their conference that they see twice a year so they're playing at a different level of ball."
Feliciano has taken teams against all three clubs in the last few years. His teams played both Tulane and Boston College while he was at Rider. UNH played in a tournament at Colgate this year and knocked off the Raiders, 3-1, with scores of 26-24, 27-25, 18-25 and 25-16.
Tulane is the first order of business.
"They're big, they're physical, they're fast," Feliciano said. "But they're also human. If we focus on playing our type of volleyball, passing the ball well, setting tempo, I think we'll be very competitive. Any time you can be very competitive versus a team like Tulane who's in the top 100 in RPI, it's a positive thing. That's what we want to be able to do and that's what we've done the entire season. We want to put our best foot forward and always go after it in a positive way."
The approach led the Wildcats to a 17-9 overall record and a 7-3 mark in America East that earned them the No. 2 seed in the tournament. They fell to Hartford, 3-2, in the semifinals.
It was a transition year in which seven newcomers, not counting a new coaching staff, mixed with seven returning players.
"Everything was new to everybody," Feliciano said. "It's not like the seven players who returned knew what was going to happen. They had to adjust with the newer players as well so we all had to do it together. There's still room for growth on both ends. The staff's not perfect. We're working on creating this culture that's very positive and for the most part we've done that. But we all learn together, which I think has kind of helped us along the year to finish 17-9. We were always on the same page and were able to kind of grind our way through it."
Along the way to 17-9 and the runner-up finish during the regular season, five Wildcats earned postseason league honors.
Senior Hannah Petke was named to the America East All Conference first team and senior Kennedi Smith and sophomore Abby Sullivan made the second team. Freshman Erin Hedrick and Wren Macaulay were named All-Rookie.
Friday, and perhaps beyond, they and their teammates get a chance to play again.
"It's an exciting opportunity," Feliciano said. "Obviously the focus moving forward is to win the America East and go to the postseason as an NCAA automatic bid. But, this is a transition year and our program has done a fantastic job in adjusting to new systems and new culture and just a new way of doing things. . . . That's not just the players, not just the staff. It's everyone from administration to our athletic trainer to our strength coach to our academic advisors. This is definitely something UNH should celebrate because it involves everybody."
Bottom line: The Wildcats are still playing.
"We're one of 96 teams left in the country playing volleyball," Feliciano said. "We're playing a meaningful volleyball match in December. That's what we all signed up for when we decided to play Division I athletics. We're playing in a very competitive bracket. I think we have probably the most competitive bracket in the tournament. I definitely feel whoever comes out of our bracket will be in the final four of the tournament."
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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RS
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OH
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