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Volleyball Sweeps New Hampshire to Open Conference Schedule
Sept. 29, 2006
ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine volleyball team opened its 2006 home and conference schedule in fine fashion on Friday night at Memorial Gym, as the Black Bears swept New Hampshire 3-0. Maine won by scores 30-28, 33-31 and 30-25 to improve to 3-11 on the season and 1-0 in America East. It marked the third-straight match Maine swept the Wildcats. UNH fell to 4-11 and 0-1 with the setback. Maine was led in kills by sophomore Amy Lawson (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) with 10. Classmate Jessica Wolfenden (Ottawa, Ontario) added nine kills, while Lindsay Allman (Fenton, Mo.) and Margaret Page (Winnetka, Ill.) each chipped in with seven. Senior setter Shelly Seipp (Spokane, Wash.) paced Maine with 32 assists, 14 digs and a pair of service aces. Lawson also had three blocks in the contest. The first game went back and forth. The Wildcats raced out to an 11-4 lead, but the Black Bears responded with a 10-3 run to knot it at 14. The run was sparked by a pair of kills by Allman and a service ace from Seipp. From that point on there were five ties and six lead changes. UNH took a 28-27 lead on an attack error by Lawson, but Maine scored the final three points to take the game 30-28. A kill by Brittany Kiehl (Virginia Beach, Va.) capped the game one win for the Black Bears.
The second game had the same look as the first one, as New Hampshire jumped out to an early 10-4 advantage. The Black Bears tried to claw their way back during the middle stages of the game, but the Wildcats pushed their lead out 22-15. Maine used a 9-3 surge to pull within 25-24 as the lead never grew larger than three points the rest of the way. UNH took a 29-27 lead, but a kill from Allman and an attack error by Lucia Bridova knotted the game up at 29-29 for Maine. A service error by Wolfenden gave the Wildcats a slim 31-30 advantage, but Maine answered with the final three points to take the game 33-31.
Maine led most of the way in game three to earn the win in the match. The Black Bears led by as many as seven points in the match and used a kill by Kiehl to cap the victory. All three of Maine's wins this season have come via three-game sweeps. The Black Bears will look to run their win streak to two on Sunday when they play host to Hartford in Memorial Gym at 1 p.m. Maine swept the season series from the Hawks last season. Admission is free for all home matches played at "The Pit." |
