WEST HAVEN, CONN. – The University of New Haven volleyball team (8-5, 3-0 NE-10) cruised to a three-set (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) sweep of visiting Bloomfield College on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night at Charger Gymnasium. Leading the Blue and Gold in their final non-conference match was junior Caroline Martins (Tres Pontas, Brazil) who put down a career-high 11 kills, while hitting an impressive .455 for the match.

HIGHLIGHTS

·         Martin's 11 kills is her first match as a Charger reaching double digits, while her .455 hitting average is also a career-best. Overall she finished with just one error in 22 total attempts. The Tres Pontas, Brazil native finished with a match-high five kills in the opening set, while she closed out the second set of the match with four kills and no errors, hitting .800 in that set alone.

·         Joining Martins in leading the Chargers was freshman Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) who finished her fourth match, in the last five, with double figures kills, matching Martin with 11. The rookie outside hitter finished with a .261 hitting average, while she closed out the first and second sets of the match with four kills and one error in each.

·         Rounding out the leading hitters was junior middle Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) who collected nine kills and a .368 hitting average, second best on the team. Overall, eight different Chargers finished with at least three kills in the match.

·         As a team, New Haven finished the match with a .314 hitting average, the second highest combined team effort of the season. The Chargers collectively finished with 51 kills and hit just 13 errors in 121 total attempts.

·         Sophomore Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) finished her sixth straight match with a double double, finishing with 19 assists and 17 digs, both second most on the team.

·         Senior setter Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) finished the match with a team-high 20 assists.

·         As a team, New Haven combined for four total blocks in the match, with Bussey a part of all four, including one solo put back.

·         Defensively, the Chargers were led by freshman libero Charleigh Crews (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day) who finished with 20 digs, one of three players in double figures. In addition to her and Rios, Lindsay Kim finished with 11 defensive stops.

UP NEXT
The Chargers return to Northeast-10 Conference play with their longest road trip of the season when they travel to Syracuse, N.Y. for a date with the Le Moyne Dolphins. Opening serve against Le Moyne is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 16.