BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The University of New Haven women's volleyball team swept the College of Saint Rose Thursday night to move on to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II East Region Champinoship tomorrow night to face LIU Post. Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) registering a double-double with 33 assists and 10 digs, while Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) and Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) each tallied nine kills and double digit digs.

The Chargers won by scores of 25-15, 25-21 and 25-15 to improve to 22-8 on the season. The Golden Knight conclude their season at 18-9 overall. Second-seeded New Haven will take on sixth-seeded LIU Post, the defending East Region Champions, tomorrow in the semifinals at 5 p.m. in Bridgeport.

Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) led the New Haven defense with 23 digs, while middle hitters Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) each provided seven kills. Atufunwa tallied a match-best six total blocks. Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) chipped in nine kills and one assist on the night.

Maryellen Devic led Saint Rose with 11 kills to go along with five digs. Katy Daniels provided 21 digs in addition to her two assists. 

As a team, UNH hit at a .261 percentage and registered 10 more kills than the Golden Knights (42-32). The Blue and Gold also held a significant 71-54 lead in digs.

New Haven started off on the right foot, scoring six of the first seven points of the set. Capitalizing on Saint Rose's errors, Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) and Lee tallied kills early. UNH then went on a 5-0 run, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead. The Blue and Gold kept the momentum, pulling away to a 15-6 lead. Dalton and Meteyer provided kills during the run. A total team effort resulted in a 25-15 win for the Chargers in set one.

Saint Rose kept set two closer throughout with long rallies and aggressive defense. Despite trailing 3-0 early, the Golden Knights fought back and cut the lead to one, 4-3. Even with strong play from Saint Rose, New Haven was able to keep at least a two-point lead until late. The play of Wilson, Lee and Meteyer propelled the team to a 14-8 lead. The next three points went to the Golden Knights, The Chargers responded, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 20-14 lead. Saint Rose scored four unanswered and brought the set back within one point, but aggressive serving by Hacker sealed the 25-22 win in set two.

Controlled by the Chargers once again, set three looked similar to the opening set. UNH went on runs of five, four and five to set up a Dalton kill which gave the Chargers a 10-point victory, 25-15.

In the midst of their ninth-straight NCAA tournament appearance, the Chargers won their opening game of the NCAA East Region Championship for the eighth straight year. With a win over LIU Post Friday, the Chargers would advance to their fourth consecutive East Region Championship match.