Wildcats win two on the road

The UNH volleyball team improved to 3-0 in the conference and 11-8 overall with two nail-biting performances over UMBC and Binghamton. 

The Wildcats traveled to Baltimore, Md. on Friday, Sept. 28 for a 7 p.m. showdown with UMBC. The match went five sets, with UNH winning the first, third and fifth set all by three points.

UMBC actually dominated the second and fourth sets, winning by seven and five points respectively. UMBC had the better kill percentages those sets as well, hitting at a clip of .375 and .273 compared to UNH’s .138 and .219, respectfully. 

Despite the disparity, and the fact that UMBC actually scored more points throughout the game than UNH (85-76), the Wildcats won 3-2. 

Leading the way was Morgan Thatcher, who has been on a tear recently, registering 18 kills for a .405 kill percentage, while also chipping in 20 of UNH’s 76 points. 

Not to be outdone were the trio of freshman starters. Abigail Brinkman, Victoria Forrest, and Brenna Buckwalter each had double-digit kills and double-digit points. Forrest also had two aces and nine digs. 

Two days later, on Sunday, Sept. 30, the Wildcats were in Vestal, N.Y. to take on Binghamton for a 1 p.m. match. The freshman trio and Thatcher again led the Wildcats to victory, each registering double digit kills and points for the second straight match. 

The match was once again close, as the Wildcats took a close first and second set, 28-26 and 25-23, respectively. Binghamton finally broke through in the third set with 19 kills and a .378 kill percentage to win 25-21. 

UNH refused to let Binghamton keep momentum and ended up winning the fourth set and match 25-21 on a kill by Forrest. 

The Wildcats return home for a showdown with Stony Brook on Friday, Oct. 5. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium.