'Cats head to NJIT for AE matches against Binghamton and UMBC

Sunday, March 21

Newark, N.J.

11 AM

University of New Hampshire

UMBC

'Cats head to NJIT for AE matches against Binghamton and UMBC

3/20/2021 8:29:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

UNH opens the weekend against UMBC on Sunday at 11am

Sunday, March 21st vs. UMBC (11am)/Binghamton (5pm)
(Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center; Newark, N.J.)
Watch 1st Match | Watch 2nd Match | Live Stats

Monday, March 22nd vs. Binghamton (1pm)/UMBC (4pm)
(Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center; Newark, N.J.)
Watch 1st Match | Watch 2nd Match | Live Stats

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: UNH enters the week with a 2-2 record (2-2 AE), after a weekend split at Stony Brook last weekend. Junior Abby Sullivan (Methuen, Mass.) paced the Wildcats last weekend with 23 kills, 3.29 kills per set and a stellar .405 hitting percentage in the series, while junior co-captain Kate Bilyeu (Omaha, Neb.) led the team with 28 digs and 4.0 digs per stanza. Sullivan leads the team with 44 kills and 2.93 kills per set, while freshman libero Mia Pagliarini (Springboro, Ohio) has led the team on defense with 52 digs and 3.71 digs/set.

LAST TIME OUT: The University of New Hampshire volleyball team split a pair of matches in Sunday's doubleheader at Stony Brook in America East play from Pritchard Gymnasium. With the split, the Wildcats own a 2-2 overall record, while the Seawolves move to 3-6 overall and 3-3 in America East matches. In the late match, UNH fell to SBU, 3-0. The set scores were 25-12, 26-24 and 25-19. Sullivan totaled a match-high 11 kills and a .381 hitting percentage in the losing efforts for the Wildcats in the second match of the day. Pagliarini amassed a team-high 12 digs for UNH. The Wildcats had a match-high 17 kills in the second stanza with a .184 team hitting percentage.

In the early match, the Wildcats defeated the host team by a 3-1 score. The set scores were 26-24, 25-16, 18-25 and 25-20. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Serbousek (Fort Collins, Colo.) paced the Wildcats in their victory in the opening match with a career-high 13 kills with a .281 hitting percentage and five digs. Sullivan notched 12 kills in the win, hitting at a .429 clip, while junior Ari Pola (Auckland, New Zealand) registered a career-high 11 kills for the Wildcats. Bilyeu added seven kills, 19 digs and three aces, while freshman Ali Stuessi (Fairhaven, Mass.) also added 14 digs on defense. Senior setter Emma Patlovich (Lake Forest, Ill.) tallied 31 assists and 12 digs quarterbacking the Wildcats' offense. UNH tallied 16 kills in the opening frame and then notched 13 kills in sets two and four, hitting .393 and .306, respectively.

SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS: UMBC owns a 5-2 overall record (4-2 AE) headed into the weekend. The Retrievers won their most recent match (3-0) against Binghamton on March 14. Darina Kumanova and Anouk Van Noord each posted a match-high 17 kills apiece in the win for UMBC, while Loren Teter amassed 20 digs. Kumanova leads the team with 101 kills and 3.61 kills per set for the Retrievers, while Teter has amassed 128 digs and 4.57 digs per stanza.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMBC: UNH owns a 26-11 all-time record vs. the Retrievers, which included a split of the series back in 2019. The Wildcats have won 15 of the last 17 meetings against UMBC. Bilyeu totaled 11 kills in the 3-2 Wildcats' win back on October 6, 2019, while Sullivan chipped in with 10 kills.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS: Binghamton comes into the weekend 0-6 in AE play. They are coming off a 3-1 loss to Hartford on Wednesday, March 17. Stefana Stan had 21 kills in the losing effort for the Bearcats. Francela Ulate leads Binghamton with 56 kills and 39 digs on the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BINGHAMTON: UNH has a 24-16 all-time record against Binghamton in 40 matches. The Wildcats have won four straight meetings vs. the Bearcats, which includes a pair of 3-0 wins in 2019. Sophomore setter Wren MacAulay (Lake Orion, Mich.) amassed five service aces in the 3-0 win against the Bearcats on November 8, 2019.

AE LEADERS: The Wildcats lead America East with 2.42 service aces per set and 21.5 digs per set, while the team ranks second in both kills (14.8) and assists (13.6). Abby Sullivan rankes third among AE players with a .379 hitting percentage and her 2.93 kills per set ranks seventh in the conference. Kate Bilyeu's 0.73 aces per set ranks third and her 3.82 digs per set ranks tied for fifth in the conference.

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