Box Score vs. Rollins
Box Score vs. Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. - The University of New Haven women's volleyball team opened the 2011 season Friday against two of the top teams in Florida. The Chargers dropped a pair of three-set matches in their first outing of the season. UNH fell 25-23, 25-15, 27-25 to Rollins College in their first match and then dropped the nightcap 25-21, 25-13, 25-19 to Florida Southern College.

Match One vs. Rollins
New Haven played point-for-point with Rollins in their opening set. UNH at one point let 10-7, before falling behind 13-16 after a three point swing by Rollins. Later in the set, UNH tied the score at 22-22 off a Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) kill, but Rollins closed out the set with three of the final four points.

In the second set, the Chargers fell behind early and could not recover. Rollins opened a 10-4 lead early on in the set and would lead by as many as 11 points near the end of the set. Rollins scored four of the final seven points in the set and sealed the 10-point victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third and final set played much similar to the first set. The Chargers, however, led much later in the set. With a slight lead early on, The Chargers use three-straight points, including an ace by freshman Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) to take a 23-19 lead. After a Rollins timeout, UNH dropped eight of the sets final 10 points and suffered its first loss of the season.

Statistically, Candelaria led the team with 12 kills on 40 attempts with nine errors. She also grabbed 14 digs to lead the team. Setter Chelsey Alpough (Torrance, Calif./South / Western New Mexico Univ. ) dished out 23 assists with five digs and one kill. Senior Elizabeth Akinbiyi (Miami Gardens, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna Prep.) was second on the team with nine kills of 24 attempts with two errors.

Match Two vs. Florida Southern
New Haven played a very close opening set with Florida Southern until midway through the set when a two-point deficit turned into a 16-12 FSC lead. The Mocs would hold on to that four-point lead and take an advantage in the match.

The second set was all Mocs as they took a 10-point, 15-5, lead midway through the set. Florida Southern scored 10 of the sets final 18 points and took a 25-13 victory in the set.

In a two-set deficit, UNH played nearly point-for-point with a team that received votes in the AVCA Division II Preseason Poll. Trailing by just one point, 11-10, UNH suffered a service error and gave up three straight point to fall further behind. Another three-point rally put the Mocs up 22-14 later in the set and put the Chargers down too far. The Chargers did, however, score five of the final eight points, but came up short in their second match of the day.

Candelaria once again led the team with 12 kills on 38 attemptes with only three errors. She also led the backrow again with 11 digs, while Alpough haned out 18 assists. Heather Ladao (West Covina, Calif./Rowland ) chipped in nine digs, while Akinbiyi added five kills.

The Chargers will return to action tomorrow in St. Leo, Florida to take on St. Leo University and St. Endward's University. Links to live video on Saturday can be found at www.NewHavenChargers.com.