Story courtesy UNHWildcats.com
SEATTLE – Junior outside hitter Tori Forrest (Powder Springs, Ga.) notched six kills and 11 digs, but the University of New Hampshire volleyball team fell to third-ranked University of Washington in three sets in Friday's NCAA first round match at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The set scores were 9-25, 6-25 and 18-25. New Hampshire finishes the season with a 20-12 overall record as its season-high 11-match unbeaten streak comes to an end. Washington, who received an at-large bid out of the Pac-12 Conference, wins its fifth consecutive match and improves to 30-2.
In the first match of the evening, No. 23 University of Hawaii topped No. 21 Duke University in straight sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-17). Hawaii and Washington will compete Saturday, Dec. 6 at 10:30 p.m. in the second round of the tournament at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Alongside Forrest's performance, sophomore middle blocker Demi Muses (Orangevale, Calif.) tallied six kills, three digs and two blocks. Senior setter Taylor Dunklau (Mukwonago, Wis.) dished out 12 assists while junior defensive specialist Madison Lightfoot (Clarkston, Mich.) scooped up seven digs. Lightfoot matched the program's single-season digs record (560), held by volunteer assistant coachJessie Schnepp (2012).
The Wildcats kept pace with the Huskies to start the match with kills from Brenna Buckwalter(Evergreen, Colo.) and Forrest at 4-3 in favor of Washington. However, the Huskies surged ahead with a 6-0 run to take a 10-3 lead. Following a UNH timeout, Cassidy Croci (Sylvania, Ohio) slowed the Washington run with a kill, but the Huskies retained the momentum to lead 18-5 late in the set. Despite kills from Forrest and Muses, Washington captured the first set, 25-9.
UNH took the board to begin the second stanza with kills from freshman right side hitter Sasha Cucuz(Plymouth, Mich.), but UW jumped ahead to own a 10-2 advantage early. The Huskies did not let up, tacking on seven more points to take a 17-2 lead. The Huskies featured a match-high .464 attack percentage in the set and seized set two, 25-6.
New Hampshire would not go quietly in the third set. The Huskies built a 7-2 lead out of the chute, but the 'Cats clawed back within two points at 8-6. UNH inched closer after an attack error from UW with a service ace from Lightfoot to make it 9-8 in favor of the home team. After a Washington kill, UNH responded immediately as Abby Brinkman (Brecksville, Ohio) landed a kill to up the score to 10-9. The Huskies engineered a 5-1 flurry to force the Wildcats to huddle at the 15-11 mark. The two sides exchanged the next 10 points as the score increased to 19-14 late in the stanza. Brinkman, Muses and Forrest all notched kills late in the frame. However, the Huskies were able to preserve its lead and clinch match point, 25-18, eliminating UNH from the 64-team field.
The end of the 2014 season marked the end of UNH careers for seniors Katie Sattora (Avon, N.Y.),Delaney Dameron (Alpharetta, Ga,) and Dunklau. The trio led UNH to an America East title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
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