New Haven, Conn. – The University of New Haven volleyball team dropped a four set  (25-17, 26-28, 22-25, 23-25) thriller to crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday night. Leading the Chargers was outside hitter Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) who finished with 16 kills, one of two Chargers with double figure kills.

With the loss, New Haven falls to 8-7 overall and 0-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Owls improve to 3-13 overall and earn their first league victory, 1-3.

Kennelly was joined in leading the offense by Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) who followed just behind her with 15 kills. Between the two, Lee led the way with a .163 hitting percentage, while Kennelly came in at .132. Kennelly also contributed defensively with 14 digs for her eighth double double of the season.

Freshman setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) also finished among the leading hitters with eight kills and a .333 hitting average, while adding 38 assists and 11 digs. Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) closed out the match with a team-high .375 attack percentage with five kills and two errors in eight attempts. As a team, the Chargers finished the match hitting .147 with 52 kills in 163 total attempts.

Defensively, the Chargers were led by libero Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) who closed out the match with 22 digs. Along with Kennelly's 14 and Rios' 11 digs, senior Caprisha Richard chipped in 15 digs, her second-straight match with double figure digs.

New Haven will play their seventh-straight match on the road on Thursday, October 1 when they travel to LIU Post for a non-conference clash. Opening serve between the Chargers and Pioneers is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pratt Recreation Center.