NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven volleyball team completed a weekend sweep at the Charger Invitational with a pair of wins on day two of the event, defeating Queens (N.Y.) in five sets (26-24, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) and Georgian Court in four sets (25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-13).
Rounding out the weekend festivities was a pair of Chargers who were named All-Tournament led by junior outside hitter Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) who was named the Most Valuable Player and sophomore libero Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) who was one of six members of the All-Tournament Team.
Kennelly finished the four-match weekend with a team-best 68 total kills, averaging four kills-per-set. She also finished second on the team with 59 digs and seven service aces, tied for second most on the team. Smith closed out the weekend with a team-high 93 digs, averaging 4.89 digs-per-set. She also tied Anderson with seven aces.
In the final two matches on Sunday, Kennelly led the team on both sides of the ball, collecting 42 kills and 44 digs. In the two matches, she combined to hit .205, while securing seven points on service aces and assisted in a pair of blocks.
Joining Kennelly in leading the Chargers on Sunday was freshman setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who combined for 86 total assists, averaging 9.56 per set. She was also among the defensive leaders with 32 digs and seven block assists, while securing five points on service aces. Smith finished the two-match day with 34 digs, second most on the team, while adding seven assists and four aces.
MATCH NOTES VS. QUEENS
· Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) led all players in the match with 23 kills and 29 digs, both setting career-highs. She finished the opening match of the day with a .250 hitting average, suffering eight errors in 60 total attempts.
· Kennelly's 29 digs led five Chargers who finished with double digits on the defensive side the ball, including libero Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) who added 20 digs, her third-straight match and fifth of the season with 20 or more. Joining them in leading the way was setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who compiled 17, outside hitter Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) who stopped 13 attempts and defensive specialist Brianna Mirmina (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) who contributed 12.
· Rios closed out the first match of the day with a career-high 42 assists, while adding six kills and a pair of service aces to her 17 digs.
· As a team, the Chargers finished with 53 kills and a .111 hitting average. They also capitalized on the serve where they combined for nine total service aces, led by Kennelly who finished with four.
MATCH NOTES VS. GEORGIAN COURT
· In the final match of the tournament, Kennelly once again led the Chargers with her second-straight double, finishing with 19 kills and 15 digs. She also contributed three service aces, while closing out the match with a .158 hitting average with 10 errors in 57 attempts.
· Freshman setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) surpassed her career-high in assists set in the day's earlier match when she finished with 44 assists to go along with 15 digs and five blocks.
· Kennelly and Rios led the Chargers on the defensive side of the ball with their 15 digs, joined by Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) who each finished with 14 and Brianna Mirmina (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) who chipped in a dozen.
· As a team the Chargers finished the Georgian Court match with 51 kills, 12 more than the Lions. New Haven also combined for a season-best 10 blocks, led by sophomore middle hitter Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) who finished with eight total blocks, a career-high.
UP NEXT
The Chargers return to action on Wednesday night when they welcome the Bridgeport Knights to Charger Gymnasium. Opening serve in a rematch of last season's NCAA East Region Championship is scheduled for 7 p.m.
