WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Graduate middle blocker Micki Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) matched her career-high with 11 kills to lead the University of New Haven volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-21, 25-18) of Merrimack on Saturday at Charger Gymnasium. Impellizeri's 11 kills came on 16 attempts as she finished the match with a .563 hitting percentage, leading all players.
Joining her with a match-high 11 kills was junior outside hitter Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) whose 11 kills came on 21 attacks as she finished with a .429 hitting percentage, a season-best. Also among the leading hitters was Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who finished with seven and six kills, respectively.
As a team, the Chargers finished with a season-best .327 hitting average, closing out the match with 44 kills and 12 errors in 98 total attempts. Defensively, New Haven held Merrimack to a .094 hitting percentage as they suffered 20 errors while finishing with 30 kills in 106 attempts.
Kennelly also finished with a team-high 22 assists, while Rios, the freshman setter, chipped in 19. Overall, New Haven finished with an assist on all but one of their 44 total kills.
Defensively, New Haven was led by libero Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) who finished with 11 digs, one of two players in double figures as she was joined by Lee who added 10. Kennelly was also among the leading defenders as she finished one dig shy of a triple double with nine total defensive stops.
On the block, the Chargers were led by Impellizeri who finished with six of New Haven's 10 total blocks. This is the fourth time this season that New Haven as a team has finished with double figure blocks, while the six for Impellizeri is one shy of her career-high and the fifth time this season she has finished with five or more blocks.
The Chargers continue a string of 10-straight Northeast-10 matches with a second-straight home match, welcoming Le Moyne to Charger Gymnasium on Friday, October 16. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
