(1) New Haven vs. (8) American International
Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinal
Tuesday, Nov. 19 – 7 p.m.
West Haven, Conn. – Charger Gymnasium
Live Video | Live Stats
 
The University of New Haven women's volleyball team has earned the top seed in the 2013 Northeast-10 Championship and will host eighth-seeded American International on Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round. The Chargers enter the postseason with a record of 23-4 overall and completed their sixth consecutive unbeaten trip through the conference regular season at 14-0.
 
A three-time Northeast-10 Champion, New Haven is vying for back-to-back conference titles for the first time since joining the NE-10 prior to the 2008 campaign. The Chargers won the NE-10 crown last season in the midst of a run to the 12th Elite Eight berth in program history.
 
Winners of 11 consecutive matches, the Chargers are led by senior Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton). Cannady begins the postseason as the NE-10 leader and among the best in the nation in blocks per set at 1.67 while ranking second in the conference with 3.45 kills per set and a .362 hitting percentage. Cannady was a 2012 First Team All-Northeast-10 selection and a member of both the All-NE-10 Championship and All-East Region Championship Teams last fall.
 
Joining Cannady in the middle are Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) and Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East). Dalton averages 1.98 kills on .287 hitting and 0.65 blocks per set while Atufunwa, who also plays on the right side, posts 2.00 kills with a .233 hitting percentage and 0.68 blocks per frame.
 
The Charger middle hitters have led New Haven to a conference-best 2.59 blocks per set. UNH also tops the NE-10 in kills per frame at 12.77 and in assists per set at 12.02.
 
On the outside, 2012 Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) heads the hitting corps with 2.07 kills and 2.31 digs per set. Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) has added 1.92 kills and 2.39 digs per frame, and freshman Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) chips in with 1.24 finishers and 2.20 digs per set.
 
The New Haven offense, which is hitting .203 collectively, is run through 2012 Northeast-10 Setter of the Year Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha). Ane dishes out 8.61 assists per set while contributing 0.75 kills and 0.74 blocks per set. Defensively, she adds 2.70 digs per stanza of work.
 
Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) helms the back row from the libero spot, where she has recorded 5.33 digs per set. Olaso, who recently reached 1,000 career digs in only her sophomore season, is 47 digs shy of the single-season program record of 569 established by Zuleyka Figueroa in 2002.
 
The eighth-seeded Yellow Jackets from American International begin the postseason with a record of 14-15 overall and a final NE-10 tally of 8-6. AIC has won its last two matches, including a home sweep of Saint Michael's on the final day of the regular season to clinch a berth in the NE-10 Championship.

AIC is led offensively by 2.82 kills per set from Bailey Swan and 2.73 finishers by set from Melanie Garcia. Middle hitters Blair Havron and Phoebe Lettington also add better than two kills per frame for the Yellow Jackets. Freshman Hannah Smith runs the offense to a .154 hitting percentage from the setter position, distributing 9.19 assists per set, and Caitlin Connelly heads the back row with 5.09 digs per frame.
 
In the regular-season meeting between the Chargers and Yellow Jackets, which was held in Springfield on Oct. 8, Cannady recorded 24 kills with a .697 hitting percentage to lead visiting New Haven to a 3-1 victory. Meteyer added 12 kills and 10 digs, while Garcia and Britt Bryant each notched 11 kills for AIC.
 
The winner of this match will meet the winner of the match featuring fifth-seeded Franklin Pierce traveling to fourth-seeded Adelphi. The other half of the bracket pits second-seeded Saint Rose hosting seventh-seeded Merrimack and sixth-seeded Stonehill visiting third-seeded Bentley.
 
As the top seed in the Northeast-10 Championship, the Chargers have earned home court advantage throughout the eight-team tournament. Should New Haven emerge victorious on Tuesday, Charger Gymnasium will play host to both semifinal matches on Friday, Nov. 22 as well as the 2013 Northeast-10 Championship Match on Saturday, Nov. 23.