WEST HAVEN, Conn. – With the match tied at two, the Chargers came out swinging in the deciding game taking a 7-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish as the New Haven women's volleyball (16-3) team extended its win streak to nine straight matches, 3-2 over LIU Post (25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-8). Leading the Chargers on the night was junior Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) who finished with 18 kills one of three players in double figures.
Nowicki's 18 kills tied her career-high with she originally set against Molloy on September 8. Overall, the leading hitter for New Haven finished with a .288 average with three errors in 52 total attempts. Joining her in leading the team was freshman Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) and sophomore Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) who finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Among the three leaders, Fera led the way with a .333 attack percentage, hitting just a single error in 30 attempts.
Setting up New Haven's offense the majority of the match was senior setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who collected a season-best 41 assists. Within the 6-2 rotation, sophomore Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) provided assistance on five kills while senior libero Brianna Mirmina (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) also added five assists to her tally. All combined, the Chargers closed out the match with a .208 hitting average with a team total of 56 kills, all contributed by eight different players.
New Haven's best hitting of the night came in the final set where they finished without an error in 17 total attempts, placing nine of those down for points. The Chargers also closed out the third set with a.300 average, succumbing to just two errors in 40 attempts with 14 total kills.
Defensively, New Haven was led by its libero, Mirmina, who finished with 19 digs while every single player to saw action against the Pioneers returned at least one of LILU Post's attempts. Joining her in leading the team was Rios and Nowicki who closed out double doubles with 14 and 13 digs, respectively, and senior Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) who finished with 11.
The Chargers also combined for five blocks on the night led by freshman middle blocker Jalynn Finnie (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) who finished with three. New Haven also picked up six points on service aces with Rios and Mirmina each recording a pair of unreturned serves.
New Haven will play its second of three home matches in the month of October on Saturday afternoon when they host the Franklin Pierce Ravens at Charger Gymnasium. First serve in the Northeast-10 battle is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
