On ‘Dig for the Cure’ weekend, University of New Hampshire’s Alyse Lahti showed she might have a bright future in medicine.
The sophomore libero tallied 25 digs ‘ the second-highest total by any America East opponent this season ‘ in a 3-1 (29-31, 30-19, 30-24, 30-23) win over visiting Binghamton on Sunday afternoon. (The ‘Dig for the Cure’ event is an annual fundraiser for breast cancer research).
The top defensive performance by a conference opponent this season? Lahti’s 27 digs at Binghamton on Sept. 28. The cagey Wildcat now leads the conference with 5.00 digs per game.
‘I think in looking at them, they are a good digging team,’ said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama. ‘There are times when we don’t place the ball exactly where we’d like to, [but]] most of it is they are a pretty good digging team overall.’
(For the record, UNH’s Web site lists Lahti as a business major).
The loss was a disappointing end to a 1-1 weekend for the Bearcats (15-15, 6-3 AE), now in a virtual three-way tie with UNH (17-7, 6-3 AE) and Albany (16-8, 5-3 AE) for second place. Binghamton next plays at ‘ultimate rival’ Albany on Friday night, preceding a showdown with first-place Stony Brook next Thursday night in the West Gym.
Kiriyama said he hopes to improve in practice this week after an uninspired performance at UNH’s Lundholm Gymnasium on Sunday that included an unusual number of unforced errors.
‘We did give them a lot of points, I thought, not just a few, but quite a few,’ he said. ‘There are certain times in the match when we had trouble with one of their servers. It’s tough when that happens, when they score in bursts like that.’
Last Friday, the team extended its winning streak to four with a 3-0 (30-26, 30-24, 30-14) sweep at conference bottom-feeder Maine (2-19, 1-7 AE). Senior Jacki Kane picked up nine blocks ‘ the eighth time she’s tallied nine or more this season.
‘We like to start off blocking well, especially the first game, and that sort of set the tone for the rest of the match,’ Kiriyama said.
With 585 career blocks, Kane is now 28 blocks shy of the school record currently held by Susan Rinde. Kane is 16 shy of Julie Van Schaick for second place on the list.
For this season, Kane is dominating the America East with an astounding 1.52 blocks per game ‘ .21 higher than teammate Dawn Lammert, currently in second place.
Only three other players in the conference are averaging more than 1 bpg.
Senior Kathleen Schauer led BU with 11 kills on Friday night. Over their four-match winning streak, the Bearcats had four different hitters lead the team in kills: Schauer, Kane, junior Ashley Allen and freshman Michelle McDonough (who also led BU on Sunday with 19 kills).
Kiriyama, however, said he was unsure if that statistic is a mark of diversity or a harbinger of inconsistency.
‘It is a good thing in a way, in that certain matches, certain individuals will do well, and certain people will not do as well,’ he said. ‘It’s nice to have someone step up.’
It’s also more a reflection on freshman setter Lindsey Mueller and how she’s feeling that day, the coach said.
‘A lot of the decision-making takes place with the setter,’ Kiriyama said. ‘When she feels comfortable with the hitter, she’s more likely to set them. Whatever’s working, we’ll just go to.’
Mueller, in her first year supplanting four-year starter Ashley Meffert, is currently fifth in the AE with 9.72 assists per game. She tallied 70 assists in the team’s two matches this weekend.
‘She’s continuing to develop ‘ she’s come a long ways,’ said Kiriyama. ‘I think the players have full confidence in her.’
Last Tuesday night, in their final out-of-conference match, the Bearcats impressively swept Siena 3-0 in the West Gym. Siena (17-5), the two-time defending MAAC champions, is currently 12-0 in conference play this year.