SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Senior middle hitter Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) notched a career-high 24 kills on 33 attempts with a .697 hitting percentage to lead the University of New Haven women's volleyball team to a four set (24-26, 25-15, 25-21, 25-23) victory over American International Tuesday night.

With its sixth consecutive win, New Haven improved to 11-3 overall and stay undefeated at 4-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Yellow Jackets fell to 10-8 overall and lost their first NE-10 match in five tries this season.

Cannady's 20-kill performance was her second of the season and her career. The Yonkers, N.Y. native also was strong at the net with a team-high four blocks. She led a team which swung at a .290 clip with 61 total kills and 59 assists in the win. 

Teammate Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) was second on the team with 12 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. Setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) added a season second-best 54 assists, while adding 10 digs for the team's second double-double of the night. In the back row, Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) anchored the Chargers with a match-high 30 digs.

Two players recorded double figure kills for American International. Melanie Garcia and Britt Bryant both tallied 11 kills, while Garcia added a .241 hitting percentage.

Five early kills from Cannady put the Chargers ahead by eight in the first set, 16-8, but the Yellow Jackets mounted a comeback. AIC scored 13 of the next 18 points and Garcia evened the first set at 21-21. Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) scored an ace to give UNH a match point at 24-23, but the set went into extra points. Three consecutive points by the Yellow Jacket gave them a 26-24 victory and an early lead in the match.

New Haven again jumped out to another early lead in the second set. An AIC ball handling error gave the Chargers a 16-8 lead. The Chargers led for the remainder of the set and Meteyer put away four kills in the final four points to give UNH a 10-point victory, 25-15.

Much closer in the opening third of set three, New Haven and American International played to a 10-10 tie. Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) tallied her second kill in as many swings to give the Chargers a 20-16 advantage later in the third set. The Yellow Jackets narrowed the UNH lead to as few as two, but Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) buried two of the final three points to give the Chargers a 25-21 victory.

In the opening ten points of set three, Cannady, Atufunwa and Dalton each recorded multiple kills to push the Chargers out to a 10-5 advantage. The Yellow Jackets answered with a rapid 5-0 rally to even the score at 10-10. The team exchanged points before two unanswered points by the Yellow Jackets gave them a 20-19 lead. Cannady answered to even the score, while an AIC error gave the Chargers a 21-20 lead. The set was tied two other times, but the Chargers pulled ahead 23-22 and sealed the match with two of the final three points. After bringing the set within one point, 24-23, the Yellow Jackets suffered a service error and New Haven concluded the match.

The Chargers conclude NE-10 and non-conference action on Saturday, Oct. 12 when they host a tri-match at Charger Gymnasium. UNH first hosts Merrimack in a NE-10 matchup at 12 p.m. on Saturday before taking on No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney in a non-conference battle with one of the nation's top programs.