West Haven, Conn. – The University of New Haven volleyball team dropped its second-straight five-set (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 9-15) decision against the Pace Setters in the first of three-straight home matches. The Chargers fall to 14-14 overall and 6-7 in the Northeast-10, while Pace improves to 14-17 overall and 6-6 in the NE-10.
Leading the Chargers hitters was junior outside hitter Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) who finished with 17 kills and a .200 hitting average with eight errors in 45 attempts. She also chipped in 19 digs for her 14th double double of the season. Finishing just behind Kennelly was senior outside hitter Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) who finished with 15 kills and a.227 hitting average.
Also among the leading hitters was sophomore middle hitter Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) who finished with nine kills and a team-best .250 hitting average with three errors in 24 attempts. Micki Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) (8 kills), Lexis Peterson (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor Central) (5 kills) and Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) (4 kills) also added to the efforts.
As a team, New Haven outhit the Setters with a combined 58 kills and a .163 hitting percentage. The Chargers best hitting came in the two opening sets when they finished with .278 and .250 hitting averages, respectively. Rios, the chargers primary setter, led New Haven with 41 assists, her second-straight and seventh match of the season with 40 or more assists.
Defensively, the Chargers were led by freshman libero Brianna Mirmina (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) who finished with 27 digs, while adding four assists. Mirmina was one of five players who finished with double figure digs, joined by Kennelly (19), Rios (18) and Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) (14). As a team, New Haven combined for eight blocks, led by Impellizeri who stopped six Setters attempts.
The Chargers continue a regular season ending three-game home stretch with a Thursday night non-conference match against New York Institute of Technology. First serve between the Chargers and Bears is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.