WEST HAVEN, Conn. – In a match that featured 14 ties and eight lead changes, the University of New Haven women's volleyball team claimed a 3-2 win over the visiting New York Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening at Charger Gymnasium. Two Chargers recorded double-doubles in the five-set victory, which came by set scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 20-25 and 15-10.
 
With the win, New Haven improves to 13-4 and earns a split of the season series with the Bears. NYIT falls to 18-2 and sees its six-match winning streak come to end.
 
Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) led all players with 15 kills, while Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) and Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) added 10 apiece. Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) contributed eight kills from the outside, and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) and Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) each had seven finishers. Ane had 42 assists while running the offense to a .198 hitting percentage.

Ane completed her double-double with 12 digs, and Kennelly registered the first double-double of her career with 17 digs. Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) led all players with 26 digs, and Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) also reached double figures with 10 from the back row.

At the net, Cannady had a hand in six of the Chargers' 11 team blocks, and Atufunwa got a piece of five rejections. The New Haven defensive effort limited NYIT to a .149 hitting percentage.
 
Shelby Cable led the Bears with 13 kills and 24 digs. Savannah Donarski and Katarina Sretenovic also had 13 kills apiece. NYIT setter Marija Jovanovic posted a double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs.
 
After a 3-1 start to set one for the Chargers, the Bears went on a 9-2 run to force a New Haven timeout. Following the stoppage, it was the Chargers stringing together six consecutive points to surge into the lead. The clubs traded runs to a 16-16 score before NYIT broke the deadlock with a 4-0 spurt and went on to take set one, 25-22.
 
The Bears were in control again early in set two, winning the first three rallies and building a lead as large as eight points. NYIT appeared poised to claim the set, leading 23-18, but the visitors would not score again. A block from Cannady and Ane pulled the Chargers even at 23-23, and the duo teamed up again to give New Haven its first lead of the set at 24-23. A kill by Lee finished off the set, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory.
 
The Chargers rode the momentum from their second-set comeback and surged to an early 7-2 lead to force an NYIT timeout. New Haven would only cede consecutive points on two occasions in the stanza, pulling away to a 25-15 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Bears took an early lead and never looked back in the fourth set. The NYIT cushion withstood a 5-1 run by the Chargers and a late 4-0 stretch as the match went to a deciding fifth set after a 25-20 win for the visitors.
 
Guided by two kills from Cannady, New Haven raced out to a 5-1 advantage in the fifth frame, but NYIT responded with a 5-0 run to take its first lead of the final set. The tally ran to 7-7 before the Chargers took the lead for good on back-to-back kills by Kennelly and Ane. The clubs traded points before Kennelly sent home her 10th kill of the match, extending the margin to 12-9. The freshman landed an ace to bring the score to 13-9 and, after an attack error, consecutive finishers from Dalton and Atufunwa ended the match with a 15-10 Chargers' victory.
 
New Haven returns to the court and resumes the Northeast-10 slate on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Saint Rose. Action comes back to Charger Gymnasium on Thursday, Oct. 24 against perennial ECC and East Region power Dowling.