‘Cats prepare for two-match weekend

With only five games remaining in the regular season, the UNH volleyball team must make every match count, including two conference games at home this weekend.

The first on Friday, at 7 p.m, will be against Binghamton. The Wildcats and Bearcats met back on Sep. 30 at Binghamton with UNH coming away with the victory 3-1.

In that game, the freshman trio of Abigail Brinkman, Victoria Forrest, and Brenna Buckwalter all registered doubled digit kills. Forrest registered the most of the three, kicking in 14 and no errors to record an impressive kill percentage of .368. Morgan Thatcher paced everyone with 17 kills.

New Hampshire will also host UMBC on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Retrievers and Wildcats clashed at UMBC almost a month ago on Sep. 28 in a well fought, back and forth game that UNH claimed 3-2.

Once again, the “big three” of Brinkman, Forrest, and Buckwalter all registered double digit kills, with Buckwalter this time leading in kill percentage at .333. Thatcher put in a stellar performance with 18 kills, three digs, and four blocking assists to go along with a team high .405 kill percentage.

Both the Bearcats and Retrievers sit at 4-3 in conference play, tied for third in America East. Both teams have only suffered one loss at home, coming at the hands of the Wildcats. UMBC and Binghamton split against each other, Binghamton routing UMBC at home 3-0 on Sep. 21 and UMBC taking down Binghamton 3-1 at home on Oct. 19.

Last year, the Wildcats split against both UMBC and Binghamton. The Wildcats beat UMBC at home, 3-1, before losing 3-0 at Baltimore later in the season. Binghamton beat UNH early in the season in Durham, 3-1, before the Wildcats avenged the loss at New York in the season finale, routing UMBC 3-0.

One storyline to monitor is the setter position for the Wildcats. Senior captain Jansan Falcusan, the regular starting setter, did not play in last week’s victory at Providence due to injury. Sophomore Taylor Dunklau stepped in and won America East Setter of the Week. Dunklau is the starting setter indefinitely.

Dunklau also played earlier in the season when Falcusan was unable to play. Dunklau won three America East Setter of the week awards for 8/27, 9/3, and 9/10. As a freshman, Dunklau played in 11 matches, 32 sets, and registered 111 assists and 37 digs.