GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The University of New Haven women's volleyball team powered past host Adelphi in straight sets on Tuesday evening in a pivotal Northeast-10 Conference match. The Chargers were led by seven kills apiece from Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) and Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and the 10th double-double of the fall for Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha).
 
With their fourth consecutive win – all by 3-0 scores – the Chargers improve to 18-5 overall and 9-1 in the NE-10. Adelphi drops to 13-10 and takes the first blemish on its conference mark, which now stands at 10-1.
 
In addition to her double-double consisting of 24 assists and 10 digs, Ane hammered home six kills on 10 errorless swings from the setter spot. Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) added six kills, and Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) chipped in with four. Rounding out the offense were Lexis Peterson (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor Central) and Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) with three and two finishers, respectively. The Chargers hit at a collective rate of .178 in the three-set contest.
 
Defensively, Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) led the Chargers with 15 digs. Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy), who was named Northeast-10 Libero of the Week earlier today, added 10 from the back row. At the net, Atufunwa had a hand in five of the Chargers' six team blocks, including a pair of solo send-backs. Ane played a part in three rejections.
 
The New Haven defensive effort limited Adelphi to a .083 hitting percentage. The Panthers were led by 10 kills and five blocks from Kaitlyn DeStefano. Alayna Jackson handed out 21 assists for the home team, and Sierra Crook led all players with 16 digs.
 
Adelphi jumped out to a fast 5-2 lead in the opening set, but the Chargers rallied to knot the score at 9-9. That deadlock was the first of 10 ties in set one, as the squads traded points up to a 23-23 tally. New Haven was the team to break the stalemate with an Atufunwa kill followed by a Panthers' setting error that gave set one to the Chargers, 25-23.
 
The hosts were once again the aggressors in the opening points of the second set, taking a 4-0 advantage. However, the Chargers responded with an 8-1 run to take a 9-7 lead. The Panthers would twice pull even with New Haven, but the Blue and Gold never trailed for the remainder of the set. A 7-0 run that featured back-to-back Ane kills staked the Chargers to a 22-15 lead, and New Haven went on to close out the frame by a 25-20 count to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Chargers led wire-to-wire in the third set, leading by as many as nine points en route to a 25-17 victory to complete the 3-0 sweep.
 
Action returns to Charger Gymnasium this weekend as New Haven plays host to Saint Michael's on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saint Anselm on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Chargers will celebrate Senior Day prior to Saturday's clash with the Hawks. Both matches will be broadcast live in high definition and free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com.