BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Sophmore middle hitter Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) paced the Chargers offense with 25 kills and a .395 hitting percentage as the University of New Haven women's volleyball team defeated Franklin Pierce University 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 27-29, 25-13). The Chargers improved to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Ravens dropped to 7-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Early in the first set Saturday, senior outside hitter Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) earned her 1,000 career dig and after 19 in the match, her career total stands at 1,018. Candelaria became the seventh women's volleyball student-athlete in UNH history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.

Atufunwa amassed 25 kills off 43 attempts with just eight errors to lead the offense with a .395 percentage. She also recorded a team-leading five total blocks in the win. Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) chipped with with 14 kills and two toal blocks, while Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) finished with 11 kills and a team-high 21 digs. Sophomore setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) ran the offense and dished out 52 assists. Defensively, Ane added 12 digs and Bai Zhang (China/Shan Dong Zi Bo No. 10 / China Shan Dong Normal University) added 10 digs.

Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early 15-10 lead in the opening set. Behind stellar serving from Candelaria, New Haven crawled back and went on a 15-0 run to close out the first set. The stretch included six kills from Atufunwa and four points from Lee. The freshman Lee also scored the final point of the set to put the Chargers ahead 1-0 in the match.

The Ravens again jumped out to the first lead in the second set. Franklin Pierce held a 7-4 lead, but Candelaria again stepped behind the service line and rattled off four-straight to put UNH in the lead. The teams exchanged points until the 19-19 mark and then Atufunwa put the Chargers ahead for good. The sophomore also put down the 25th point of the set to give UNH a 2-0 lead in the match.

New Haven's slow start continued into the third set as the Ravens jumped out to an early 9-3 lead. The Chargers began to battle back, again behind the serving of Candelaria. Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) put down a kill from Ane and evened the set at 10-10. Atufunwa would late put New Haven ahead 19-16, but the Ravens continued to press and evened the score at 22-22. Back-to-back points by UNH brought the first match point for the Chargers, but Franklin Pierce rallied again and forced extra points in the third set. New Haven's second match point came at 27-26, while Franklin Pierce rattled off the final three points and took the third set 29-27.

Set four was all New Haven as the Chargers jumped out to a 10-6 lead and 20-9 lead later in the set. Six points later, Candelaria sealed the Chargers 62nd consecutive regular season conference victory with her eighth kill of the match. 

New Haven will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 2 again Southern Connecticut State University. Game time at Charger Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m. For complete coverage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.