AMHERST, N.Y. – The University of New Haven volleyball team dropped a three-set (24-26, 24-26, 12-25) decision to second seeded Daemen College in the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region Semifinals, closing out the 2016 campaign with a 20-9 overall record and the program's fifth Northeast-10 Conference Championship. New Haven also advances to its 31st overall and 11th straight appearance in the NCAA Championship.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

·         Leading the Blue and Gold on the night was junior Caroline Martins (Tres Pontas, Brazil) who was the only Charger to finish in double figures with 10 kills. Martins finished with a .269 hitting average, suffering just three errors in 26 total attempts.

·         Joining Martins in leading the offense was senior Meghan Kennelly (Detroit, Mich./Eisenhower) who finished with eight kills and junior Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) who added seven. Bussey closed out the match leading all Chargers with a .294 attack percentage, finishing with a pair of errors in 17 total attempts.

·         Junior Fernanda da Silva (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colegio Berlaar Sao Pascoal) also hit well on the night, finishing with a .375 average, connecting on four kills in eight attempts with on error.

·         Marshalling the Chargers offense on the night was the setting twosome of senior Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) and sophomore Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who finished with 15 and 13 assists, respectively.

·         Defensively, the Chargers were led by Kennelly who was the only Charger in double figures with 12 digs. Classmate Hacker finished second overall with eight digs, while nine total players finished with at least one dig in the match.

·         As a team, the Blue and Gold combined for four total blocks, led by freshman Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) who finished with three. Bussey and da Silva each added a pair.

·         New Haven also combined for four service aces, led by sophomore Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) who chipped in with a trio, all of which came back-to-back in the first set of the night.