WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women's volleyball team spilt its doubleheader on the second day of the Charger Invitational. Amber Cannady and (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton)Annika Hacker# represented the Chargers on the All-Invitational Team.
 
New Haven, which opened the tournament on Friday night with a sweep of Wilmington, dropped today's morning contest to LIU Post, 3-1, before sweeping Stonehill in a non-conference match to conclude the weekend.
 
Cannady earns All-Invitational laurels after racking up 3.10 kills per set with a .348 hitting percentage during Chargers' three matches. The 2012 First Team All-Northeast-10 performer added 1.50 blocks per frame at the net. Hacker, making her collegiate debut as the Chargers' setter this weekend, distributed 9.90 assists per set with 1.70 digs per frame in addition to three kills, two service aces and two blocks against the Wildcats, Pioneers and Skyhawks.
 
LIU Post
LIU Post began the match on a 4-0 run, which reached 11-5 before Coach Salters used her first timeout. The Chargers mounted a comeback, trailing 21-20, but LIU Post would finish the set on a 4-1 run to take a 25-21 decision. The second set was all Pioneers as they raced out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-11 win a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
The Chargers battled back in the third frame, opening on an 8-3 run that grew into an 18-12 lead. A kill from Kennelly ended the stanza, 25-18, and kept New Haven afloat to enter set four.
 
The home team took a 5-2 lead in the frame, but LIU Post followed with 14 of the next 20 points to open up a 16-12 cushion. Following a timeout, the Chargers strung together a 7-3 spurt to claim a 20-19 lead. The squads traded points to a 23-23 tally, and it was the Pioneers who struck next, winning back-to-back rallies to take the match with a 25-23 victory.
 
Cannady led the team with 11 kills followed by nine from Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower). Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) chipped in with seven.  Hacker had a match-best 33 assists.
 
Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) recorded a match-high 18 digs in the libero spot, while Kennelly added nine and Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) contributed eight. Dalton led in the middle with five blocks.
 
Kennelly, Hacker, Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) and Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) each landed a service ace.
 
LIU Post (3-0) went on to win the Charger Invitational as the only unbeaten team at the event.
 
Stonehill
A 1-1 tie was the only deadlock in the first set. The Chargers jumped out to an 11-4 edge to force a Stonehill timeout and extended it to 20-12 before the Skyhawks used their second and final timeout. The visitors responded to the second stoppage with a run to close the gap as New Haven crept closer to set point, and the Chargers finished off set one at 25-21 on a kill by Atufunwa.
 
The squads split the first 18 rallies of the second frame, and it was the Chargers who put together the first run with a 7-3 burst to force a Stonehill timeout at 16-11. The Skyhawks would again respond but couldn't piece together an extended run as New Haven got two kills apiece from Meteyer and Kennelly down the stretch to wrap up the 25-22 win.
 
The third set mirrored the second, this time with the clubs racing out to an 11-11 stalemate. Two separate three-point rallies for the Chargers built a margin that the Skyhawks could not overcome, and a Cannady block sealed the 25-21 win and the sweep.

Cannady again led the way with 11 kills, while Kennelly posted eight in addition to six apiece from Dalton and Meteyer. Hacker distributed 35 assists.
 
After posting nine kills and nine digs against LIU Post, Kennelly neared a double-double once again with 10 digs against Stonehill. Olaso had a match-high 17 from the back row. At the net, Cannady had a hand in six of New Haven's eight blocks, including three solo stuffs.
 
The Chargers will meet Stonehill again as a part of the Northeast-10 slate in West Haven on Nov. 1.
 
New Haven returns to the court on Saturday, Sept. 14 for a tri-match at East Stroudsburg. The Chargers challenge Holy Family at 2:30 p.m. before facing the host Warriors at 5 p.m. The road swing will reach five matches in total before action resumes at Charger Gymnasium on Sept. 27 with a visit from NE-10 foe Assumption.

2013 Charger Invitational All-Invitational Team
Shelby McCool – LIU Post (MVP)
Makamae Namahoe – LIU Post
Susanna Cricchi – LIU Post
Amber Cannady – New Haven
Annika Hacker – New Haven
Sydney Maxey – Stonehill
Brittany Biddle – Wilmington