DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire Wildcats claimed their first America East title since 2003, defeating the UMBC Retrievers in five sets (22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 15-9) on Saturday evening at Lundholm Gymnasium.
The Wildcats (20-11) battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win the first five set final since 2006. Junior Taylor Dunklau was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player after registering 50 assists and leading the New Hampshire offense to a .249 hitting percentage.
Dunklau was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Morgan Thatcher, who totaled 22 kills, the most in an America East title game since Maine's Jackie Ahlers had 27 in 2007. Destiny Tolliver also earned a spot on the team with 14 kills and 5.5 blocks in the title match.
UMBC had two players selected to the All-Tournament team in junior Hannah Schmidt and senior Mallory McIntyre. Schmidt had 19 kills in the final, while McIntyre had 59 assists. Stony Brook senior Stephanie McFadden and Albany freshman Amy Hunter rounded out the All-Tournament team.
The Wildcats out-hit UMBC .249 to .181 in the match, with Thatcher hitting .442 and Tolliver hitting .480. New Hampshire totaled 12 blocks and 77 digs defensively.
UMBC jumped on the Wildcats in the first set, getting out to a 7-2 lead and never tailing in the set. McIntyre had a pair of aces during the stretch, while Emily Witsaman, Krystal Mlemchukwu and Schmidt all recorded kills.
The Wildcats closed to within two at 21-19 following back-to-back blocks by Tolliver, but could not complete the comeback as UMBC hit .300 in the set and had four service aces to edge UNH 25-22. New Hampshire hit .310 in the set including eight kills from Thatcher.
The Wildcats evened the match in the second set, out-hitting the Retrievers .317 to .182 to take the set 25-17. New Hampshire never trailed in the frame, scoring the first three points and leading by as many as nine points at 22-13 following a kill by Demi Muses. UMBC closed to within one point twice (7-6 and 8-7), but could not find an offensive flow through 23 UNH digs and three team blocks. Forrest led the Wildcats with five kills in the set.
The third set was closely contested throughout, with New Hampshire gaining a late advantage at 23-21 after a pair of UMBC attack errors. The Retrievers fought back following a timeout to score the final four points of the set, ending it with an exclamation point on a combo block by Sherelle Walker and Witsaman to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
After UMBC took the first two points of the fourth set, New Hampshire took the next four and never trailed again in the set. The Wildcats hit .222 in the frame while holding UMBC to .111, totaling 16 digs and five team blocks. Tolliver had six kills and four block assists, including two of the final three kills to give UNH the set, 25-17.
Loooking for their first title in a decade, the Wildcats scored the first five points of the fifth set and never led by fewer than four. Tolliver had three kills while Muses had two aces including two of the final three points to clinch the team's fourth title.
New Hampshire will represent the America East in the NCAA tournament and discover its opponent on Sunday, Dec. 1 during the selection show at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
All-Tournament Team
Taylor Dunklau, New Hampshire - Most Outstanding Player
Morgan Thatcher, New Hampshire
Destiny Tolliver, New Hampshire
Hannah Schmidt, UMBC
Mallory McIntyre, UMBC
Stephanie McFadden, Stony Brook
Amy Hunter, Albany