BOX SCORE BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The University of New Haven women's volleyball team defeat host and top-seeded Bridgeport, 3-2, in an NCAA Division II East Region Championship Semifinal on Friday night at Hubbell Gymnasium. The fourth-seeded Chargers advance to tomorrow's NCAA East Region Championship Match to play second-seeded LIU Post, which swept third-seeded NYIT in the day's first semifinal matchup.
 
With their 16th-consecutive win, the Chargers improve to 28-4 overall. The Purple Knights' season ends with a 22-3 record.
 
New Haven took the match by set scores of 14-25, 25-20, 25-14, 22-25 and 15-9 to win its third consecutive five-set contest.
 
Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) led the Chargers' offense with 12 kills, and Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) added nine on .381 hitting. Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) pounded eight finishers, Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) had seven and Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) landed six. Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) and Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) each had one kill, and Ane ran the offense wo a .125 rate with 39 assists.
 
The NE-10 Setter of the Year completed a double-double with 10 digs, while Olaso led the back row with a match-high 21 digs. At the net, Dalton had a career-best 10 blocks as New Haven sent back 14 in total. Ane got a piece of four rejections and Atufunwa was a part of three stuffs.
 
The Chargers got a season-high 10 points for their serving game. Ane landed three aces to head the effort with two apiece coming from Olaso, Meteyer and Ashley Gomez (El Paso, Texas/Ysleta).
 
Biljana Savic had a triple-double with 15 kills, 13 assists and 17 digs to lead Bridgeport.
 
The Purple Knights made the match's first run – an 8-2 stretch to claim an early 14-7 advantage and force a New Haven timeout. Bridgeport continued its run out of the stoppage, however, and soon held a 20-10 lead. The Chargers made a late run with a three-point spurt that included consecutive Ane service aces, but the hosts would close out the first frame by a score of 25-14.
 
In set two, New Haven went on the first run as the Chargers erased a 7-6 deficit with three points in a row – kills from Lee and Meteyer and a Bridgeport error. The margin extended to 17-12 in a span that featured three Cannady kills and a Dalton solo block. A UB timeout did little to slow down the New Haven attack, as the lead grew to 23-15 on an Olaso service ace and forced another timeout by the home team. The Purple Knights responded to the second stoppage with three straight points, but the Chargers finished off the set, 25-20.
 
Bridgeport took seven of the first 10 rallies in the third set, but a five-point run that included four consecutive blocks soon tied the frame at 8-8. Dalton had a hand in three of the four send-backs, including a solo effort. The run continued through one Bridgeport timeout and reached 12-1 in total before the hosts used their second with New Haven on top, 15-9. The Chargers were again undeterred, completing the set on a 22-6 stretch to cap a 25-14 win and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
Neither team led by more than two points for the majority of set four, as the squads traded rallies to an 18-18 deadlock. The Purple Knights broke that trend, and the 10th tie of the set would be the last, as Bridgeport ran off four consecutive tallies and held the Chargers at arm's length down the stretch to take a 25-22 decision and send the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
Back-to-back blocks capped a 5-1 stretch to open the fifth set for New Haven and force a quick Bridgeport timeout.  The Chargers to an 8-3 lead into the midway point of the frame and opened up a 12-6 advantage as the Purple Knights used their second stoppage of the set. A Kennelly kill brought the set to match point, and the freshman landed an ace to complete the 15-9 win and the 3-2 victory in the match.
 
The NCAA Div. II East Region Championship Match between the Chargers and second-seeded Pioneers will begin at 7 p.m. from Bridgeport's Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium. The University of New Haven Department of Athletics and Undergraduate Student Government Association are co-sponsoring a free fan bus for UNH students. The bus is set to depart from Maxcy Hall at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to reserve a seat on the bus by e-mailing Senior Associate Director of Athletics Susan Zawacki at szawacki@newhaven.edu or calling (203) 932-7357.