EASTON, Mass. – The University of New Haven volleyball team (16-8, 11-3 NE-10) closed out the regular season with its second straight three-set sweep, defeating Stonehill on Friday night at Merkert Gym. Leading the Chargers on the night was junior Lexis Peterson (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor Central) who finished with six kills and a .455 hitting average, while adding four blocks.
HIGHLIGHTS
· The only player in the match to close out the night with double figure kills was the Chargers senior outside hitter Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) who finished with 10, amassing a .292 hitting average with three kills in 24 attempts.
· Joining Kennelly and Peterson in leading the Chargers offense was junior Caroline Martins (Tres Pontas, Brazil) and sophomore Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who finished with seven and five kills, respectively. Both also finished without an error on the night as Martins put up a .368 hitting average (19 attempts) and Rios finished with a .313 average (16 attempts.
· As a team, New Haven combined for 37 kills and just seven errors for a .312 attack percentage. The seven errors for the Blue and Gold matched a season low, originally set in the season opener against Kentucky State. Setting up all of that offense was setters Rios and Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) who finished with 14 and 13 assists, respectively.
· New Haven finished a pair of sets with nearly identical hitting averages, with the best of the night coming in the opening set where it combined for 12 kills and three errors in 26 attacks (.346). The Blue and Gold followed that with a .345 hitting average in the second set, closing out the set with 21 kills and two errors in 29 attempts.
· Defensively, New Haven was led by freshman libero Charleigh Crews (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day) who collected 14 digs, her fifth straight match in double figures. She was the only Charger to finish with double figure digs, while Rios closed out the night second on the team with nine kills. Hacker finished just behind with eight.
· As a team, the Chargers combined for eight total blocks, led by freshman Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) who finished with five. Peterson's four followed that, while Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) closed out the night with three put backs.
UP NEXT
The Chargers advance to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship for the ninth straight season and will learn their first round opponent following the final day of action on Saturday. New Haven will finish no lower than fourth place in the league standings and will host a quarterfinal match-up on Tuesday, November 15. First serve in that NE-10 Championship quarterfinal is set for 7:00 p.m. at Charger Gym.
