Oct. 6, 2011

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Winners of five of its last six matches, the Stony Brook University volleyball team hits the road to face New Hampshire and Hartford this weekend. The Seawolves will take on UNH on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing off against Hartford on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Last time out
Senior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) tied a career-high with 26 kills as Stony Brook outlasted the Binghamton Bearcats in five sets (25-19, 24-26, 25-19, 24-26, 15-11) on Sunday afternoon at Pritchard Gymnasium.

Nelson also added 12 digs while sophomore Evann Slaughter (Clinton, Md.) chipped in with 13 digs on a .357 hitting percentage. Freshman Laura Hathaway (Warsaw, N.Y.) paced Stony Brook with 21 digs and senior Jennifer Cunningham (Little Neck, N.Y.) had a career-high 18 digs.

Seawolves News & Notes
Stony Brook is now 8-8 overall and 2-1 in the America East ... the Seawolves are a half game behind second place New Hampshire and a game behind first place Albany in the conference standings ... Nelson was named America East Player of the Week on Monday ... it was the third time in the first six weeks of the season that a Stony Brook player has earned the honor ... Nelson is first in the America East in kills per set (4.11) and points per set (4.61) ... Stony Brook's last five wins have come in five sets.

Scouting New Hampshire
The Wildcats (3-15, 2-0 AE) dropped their first 14 matches of the season but have won three of four since including their first two America East matches. UNH beat Providence, 3-1, its last time out after edging Hartford in five sets in the conference opener.

New Hampshire is first in the America East with a 2.50 hitting percentage during conference play. But the Wildcats rank sixth with an opponent hitting percentage of .220.

The Seawolves split the season series with New Hampshire last season, with each squad winning on their home court. Nelson hit .313 and averaged 5.14 kills per set against the Wildcats last season.

Scouting Hartford
The Hawks (9-9, 0-2) have opened conference play with five-set losses to both New Hampshire and Providence. Hartford is coming off a 3-0 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday and will host UMBC on Friday before facing the Seawolves on Sunday,

Junior Kami Nethersole is second in the America East with 3.85 kills per set while freshman setter Jackie Tamburri ranks second in assists (10.10 per set). The Hawks are averaging a conference-best 16.75 digs per set and are also second in opponent hitting percentage (1.63).

The Hawks also split the season series with the Seawolves last season as each team won on their home court. Slaughter hit .317 and combined for seven blocks in the two matches against Hartford last season.