Highlights (YouTube)

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) sent home 15 kills and hit .441 to lead the University of New Haven women's volleyball team to a sweep of visiting Assumption on Friday night at Charger Gymnasium. Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) added 12 kills for the Chargers.
 
With the Northeast-10 win by set scores of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-17, New Haven improves to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in conference action. The Greyhounds drop to 3-8 on the season with an 0-3 NE-10 mark following their sixth-consecutive defeat.
 
Lee's 15 kills came on 34 errorless swings to round out her .441 hitting percentage. Behind Atufunwa's dozen kills were Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) with nine finishers and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) with five. Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) added three kills and Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) landed one.
 
The offense was run through both Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) and Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) with 21 and 15 assists, respectively. The duo guided the Chargers to a collective .264 hitting percentage.
 
Defensively, Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) had a team-best 20 digs. Ane posted 15 digs to round out a double-double and Meteyer registered 13 from the back row. At the net, Atufunwa had a hand in five of New Haven's seven team blocks.
 
Assumption was led by six Lauren Ostafin kills, 20 assists by Kristin Flatekval and a match-high 21 digs from Courtney Bagwell. The Greyhounds were limited to a .018 hitting percentage.
 
The Chargers won seven of the first nine rallies in set one, racing out to a 7-2 lead. New Haven maintained its advantage but could not pull away farther, and Assumption eventually evened it up at 15-15. However, the Blue and Gold would run off the next five points – including consecutive blocks by Atufunwa and Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) - to rebuild a five-point edge and capped the set with a Cannady kill at 25-18.
 
After trading the first eight points of the second set, the Chargers made the first run of the set. New Haven raced out to a 19-8 lead in a stretch that included kills by five different players and an Ashley Gomez (El Paso, Texas/Ysleta) ace. Back-to-back Atufunwa kills ended the set, 25-14, and UNH grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
The third set was the most competitive, featuring and early Assumption lead and six ties in the opening stages of the frame. The final deadlock came at 12-12, with the Chargers finally storming into the lead with an 8-2 run bolstered by three kills from Lee and punctuated by a block from Atufunwa and Kennelly. A four-spurt surge then pushed the action to match point, and Lee's 15th kill sealed the 25-17 win and the sweep.
 
The Chargers' three-match homestand wraps up next week with a non-conference meeting against in-state foe Post University on Wednesday and a Friday night visit from Le Moyne as NE-10 play continues. All of the action from Charger Gymnasium will be broadcast live in high definition and free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com.