Volleyball Downs FDU in Opening Match at East Coast Challenge

Friday, September 11

Storrs, Conn.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-1,0-0America East

FDU

2-7,0-0NEC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
New Hampshire	30	25	25	25	3
FDU	32	21	18	13	1

Photo by: Stu Horne

Volleyball Downs FDU in Opening Match at East Coast Challenge

9/11/2026 3:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Wildcats improve to 7-1 on the season.

STORRS, Conn. — The University of New Hampshire women's volleyball team rallied past Fairleigh Dickinson University (2-7, 0-0 NEC) on Friday afternoon (Sept. 11) at the UConn Volleyball Center, winning 3-1. The set scores were 30-32, 25-21, 25-18, and 25-13.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET 1
-New Hampshire and FDU came out trading blows, culminating in an early 15-12 lead for the Knights. In the early going, Emma Converse (San Antonio, Texas) and Rachel Grier (Dublin, Calif.) supplied the offense, scoring three and two kills, respectively.

-The Wildcats stormed back, outscoring FDU 12-9 in the back half of the opening frame to deadlock the first set at 24-24. Three kills and a solo block from Julianne Lee (Renton, Wash.) fueled the scoring, while Jessica Shattles (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) tallied a pair of kills.

-Despite back-and-forth offense between the 'Cats and Knights, FDU took the first set 32-30.

SET 2
-The Wildcats opened the second set strong, outpacing the Knights 11-4 on the scoresheet. Converse added three kills to her total while Grier landed a pair of kills and a solo block and Avery Albritton (Inverness, Ill.) notched two kills and a block assist.

-FDU began to mount the comeback, outscoring UNH 9-6, giving the Wildcats a 17-13 edge before calling timeout. Five different Wildcats scored in the run, headlined by two Dylan Hunt (Pickerington, Ohio) kills.

-New Hampshire and FDU traded blows to close the set, leading to a 25-21 set win for the Wildcats, powered by back-to-back kills from Grier to close the set.

SET 3
-FDU opened the third set on an 8-4 scoring run.

-New Hampshire took momentum and a mid-set lead, tearing off a 9-3 scoring run to make it a 13-11 contest. Hady Pickard (Roswell, Ga.) landed a service ace while Converse landed another three kills and Lee managed a pair.

-Following a 3-0 run from FDU, the 'Cats responded with a 7-0 run of their own, going ahead 21-15, fueled by two service aces and a kill from Converse.

-New Hampshire closed out the set, taking it 25-18 and earning their first match lead of the day.

SET 4
-Following an early 4-3 lead for FDU, the Wildcats ripped off an 11-4 point run, taking a 15-7 set edge midway through the frame. Five 'Cats scored to open, paced by three kills from Lee and a pair from Converse.

-UNH closed out the match with a 10-6 scoring edge, taking the set 25-13 and winning 3-1.

WILDCAT GAME HIGHS
Kills: Converse (18)
Assists: Shattles (41)
Digs: Pickard (20)
Points: Converse (23)
Blocks: Zvereva (3.5)
Service Aces: Converse (5)

TEAM TOTALS
UNH
Hitting %: .287
Kills: 66
Total Blocks: 8
Assists: 56
Digs: 71
Aces: 11
Points: 85

FDU
Hitting %: .195
Kills: 49
Total Blocks: 8
Assists: 42
Digs: 49
Aces: 6
Points: 63

BY THE NUMBERS
-Nine different players earned a kill in the win, paced by an 18-kill outing for Emma Converse, 16 kills from Rachel Grier, and a career-high 10 kills from Julianne Lee.

With her 18-kill day, Converse earned 10+ kills for the seventh time and earned 15+ kills for the fourth time this season.
Grier set a season-high for kills in the win over FDU, matching her career-best mark at 16.
Avery Albritton matched her career-high with a five-kill outing.

-Jessica Shattles headlined the team with 41 assists, marking the second-most in her career, the sixth performance this season with 25+ assists, fifth performance with 30+ assists, and the second performance with 40+ assists.

-Six Wildcats landed a service ace in the win over the Knights, led by Converse with a career-high five aces and Vivien Affeldt (Roseville, Minn.) with the first two service aces of her collegiate career.

-On defense, Hady Pickard finished with a team-leading 20 digs, while Shattles contributed another 13 digs of her own.

With her 20-dig day, Pickard earned 20+ digs for the third time in her career.
Following her 41 assist and 13 dig day, Shattles collected her second double-double of the season.

-At the net front, Varvara Zvereva (Korolev, Russia) matched her career-high with three solo blocks, while also contributing a block assist and a career-high six kills.

NEXT UP • AWAY AT UCONN, FRIDAY, SEPT. 11, 6 P.M.
The Wildcats travel to Storrs, Conn., on Friday, Sept. 11, as they battle with the UConn Huskies (3-4, 0-0 Big East) with a 6 p.m. opening serve at the UConn Volleyball Center.

Making the trip to cheer on the Wildcats? Book your hotel at GoCatsTravel.com — you'll get the same rate as Expedia or Booking.com, and 50% of proceeds goes straight back to UNH Athletics. Choose your team and book.

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