WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior outside hitter Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) finished with a combined 17 kills to lead the University of New Haven women's volleyball team as they dropped a pair of three-set matches to Florida Southern (22-25, 21-25, 14-25) and Minnesota-Crookston (23-25, 26-28, 15-25) to close out the Bentley Tournament.
The Chargers opened the day's matches with an early morning start against Florida Southern, with Lee leading the hitters with nine kills and a .148 average. As a team, New Haven finished its first match of the day hitting .049 with 26 kills and 21 errors in 103 total attacks.
Freshman setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) finished with 13 assists and was one dig shy of a double double, leading the team's defensive efforts with nine digs. Rios finsihed the opening weekend tournament with 111 assists and 39 digs to go along with 18 kills, earning All-Tournament honors. She also added four aces, which was tied with Florida Southern's Lauren Shlemon for a match-high. Lee and sophomore Devin Smith (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) also chipped in nine digs, with Lee finishing one shy of a double double.
Joining Lee in leading the Chargers hitters was Rios, Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) and Micki Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) who all finished with four kills apiece.
Kennelly led the Chargers offense in the second match of the day, finishing with nine kills against Minnesota Crookston. Joining her in leading the way was Lee who finished with eight kills and a .214 attack percentage with just two errors in 28 attempts.
Rios finished her second match of the day as the floor marshal with 24 assists, while Smith led the UNH defense with 11 digs. Rios and Lee each added eight digs to the defensive tally, while Caprisha Richards (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Antilles School) chipped in six.
The Chargers will make their debut at Charger Gym when they next take the court, hosting the Charger Invitational on September 11 & 12. New Haven will welcome Post, Daemen, Queens and Georgian Court to West Haven for the two-day event.
