WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven volleyball team broke a 10-10 tie in the fifth set by rattling off five straight points to earn the 3-2 (21-25, 25-14, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10) victory over the Pace Setters to advance to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinals. New Haven will make their sixth-straight appearance in the tournament semifinals and will serve as the host for Championship weekend.
Leading the Chargers on the night was freshman outside hitter Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) who completed her third 20-plus match over the last four, with 20 kills and a team-high .367 attack percentage with just two errors in 49 attempts. Overall, Greathead was one of three players in double figures with senior outside hitter Caroline Martins (Tres Pontas, Brazil) following with 14 kills and junior setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who chipped in 13.
Rios managed all sides of the floor on Tuesday night, compiling her fourth triple double of the season. In addition to her 13 kills, she added a team-high 31 assists and closed out the match with 16 digs. With this triple double, Rios has now finished with double figures in the three major categories in her last four NE10 Championship matches dating back to last season's title run.
Greathead's team-high hitting percentage was one of two players who finished with a plus .300 average as she was joined by senior middle blocker Lexis Peterson (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor Central) who compiled eight kills and a .333 attack percentage. As a team, New Haven finished the match hitting .218 with a combined 68 kills and 25 errors in 197 total attempts. Overall seven different players provided points in the attacking game.
Rios was joined by graduate student setter Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) in the six-two offense in marshalling the offense with Hacker closing out the match with 21 assists. Additionally, New Haven secured eight points on service aces with Martins leading the way with three. Greathead and Kim each added a pair.
Defensively, Greathead and Martins led the Chargers, finishing with 21 and 20 digs, respectively, as each completed the double double. The 20 digs for Martins set a new career-high. Overall, four total players finished in double figures on the defensive end with the pair joining Rios and junior libero Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) (11 digs).
New Haven also managed to stuff seven Setters attacking attempts with senior middle blocker Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) leading the way with three total blocks. Of her three blocks, two came as solo put backs, while Peterson also added two blocks, both of her on block assists.
The Chargers will continue their title quest on Friday when they open up the day's semifinal action with a 5:00 p.m. first serve against the fifth seeded Stonehill Skyhawks. The second semifinal will pit the sixth seeded Saint Anselm Hawks against seventh seed Southern Connecticut State Owls as both teams pulled off the upset in the quarterfinals. Tickets for the 2017 NE10 Championship cost $6 for adults, $4 for children/seniors and $1 for NE10 students with a valid ID. New Haven students will receive free admission courtesy of the Department of Athletics and the Student Government Association. Fans who are unable to attend the semifinal round can watch all the action live on the Chargers Sports Network.
