BOX SCORE
POST GAME INTERVIEW

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven women's volleyball team defeated Adelphi University 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference match at Charger Gymnasium. The Chargers improved to 14-4 overall and 9-0 in the NE-10 with the win, while the Panthers fell to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

New Haven opened the first set by giving the Panthers a three-point lead from the opening serve. The team gradually worked its way back and eventually tied the score at 8-8 in the early going. After exchanging a couple points, the Chargers started to pull away with back-to-back Adelphi errors which gave the Chargers a 17-13 lead in the set. UNH and Adelphi again went point-for-point before Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) sparked a UNH rally to close the set. Atufunwa gave the Chargers a 22-17 lead, before three straight attack errors gave the Chargers a 25-17 opening-set victory.

The Chargers opened the second set much stronger and grabbed the lead from the beginning. UNH opened a slight three points lead early, 8-5, but the Panthers hung around and would gain the lead midway through the set. The Panthers went on a 6-1 run midway through the set to take a 13-12 lead, but the Chargers answered. New Haven then went on its own 6-1 run and took an 18-14 lead, a lead which they didn't lose the remainder of the set. Down the stretch, kills from Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy), Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) and Elizabeth Akinbiyi (Miami Gardens, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna Prep.) helped seal a two-set lead with a 25-19 victory.

In the final set, UNH opened an early seven-point, 10-3, lead off oustanding serving by Candelaria and kills from a number of hitters. The set continued and the Chargers held a confortable lead until the Panthers went on a 6-3 run to cut the UNH lead to just three points, 19-16, later in the set. New Haven then strung together a trio of kills by Candelaria and eventually grabbed the victory off an Adelphi attack error, 25-19.

Candelaria led the team with 11 kills with just one error on 24 attempts for a .417 hitting percentage. Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) also played well with a .500 hitting percentage off six kills, one error and 10 attempts. Chelsey Alpough (Torrance, Calif./South / Western New Mexico Univ. ) paced the offense with 32 assists and Heather Ladao (West Covina, Calif./Rowland ) led the back row with 16 digs. Atufunwa added nine kills and two blocks.

The Chargers return to action on Friday, October 21 when they travel to Saint Michael's College. Match time in Colchester, Vt. is set for 7 p.m. The following day, Saturday, October 22, New Haven travels to take on Saint Anselm College in a 12:00 p.m. match in Manchester, N.H.