POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A storied season comes to an end for the University of New Haven women's volleyball team as they dropped a three-set decision to the top seeded Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears. The Chargers closed out the 2017 season with an overall record of 26-8 after winning the programs fifth Northeast-10 Conference title and 14th NCAA Division II East Region Championship.

Leading the Blue and Gold in the season finale was senior middle blocker Alex Bussey (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) and junior setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef), each finishing with six kills. Bussey led all of New Haven's hitters with a .275 attack percentage, suffering just error in 18 total attacks. Rios' six kills came on 17 attacks and a .235 hitting percentage as she also added seven assists and 11 digs as she was the only Charger to finish in double figures defensively.

Graduate student setter Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany/Littleton (Colo.)) closed out her collegiate career leading New Haven with 13 assists, as she finishes with a combined 1,084 career assists. Also among the leading hitters was senior outside Caroline Martins (Tres Pontas, Brazil) who chipped in four kills in the national quarterfinal, closing out her season with a team-high 392.

Joining Rios in captaining New Haven's defense was Hacker who finished with six digs, while junior libero Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) finished with four. The Chargers also combined for two total blocks with freshman outside hitter Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) and Bussey each a part of both put backs.