RINDGE, N.H. – The University of New Haven women's volleyball team capped off the season opening Ravens First Serve Invitational hosted by Franklin Pierce University taking a pair of four-set decisions to even its record at 2-2. Rounding out the weekend, junior Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) and freshman Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) each earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team with Nowicki garnering first team honors and Fera earning a spot on the second team.

Leading the Chargers on the day was freshman Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) who combined for 26 total kills, putting up double figures in each of Saturday's matches. Fera has now opened her collegiate career with four-straight matches putting down 10 or more kills, while she has finished with a double double in three of the four matches.

Joining Fera in leading the Blue and Gold on day two of the Ravens First Serve Invitational was junior Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) who collected 23 kills across the two matches, while sophomores Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) and Camille Garden (Atlanta, Ga./Landmark Christian) each added 19 total kills on the day. Garden's 19 kills came in impressive fashion as she closed out the day hitting .640 with the 19 hammers coming on 25 attempts with just a trio of errors.

Captaining the Chargers offense, in a two-setter rotation, was senior setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) who gathered a team-high 57 assists while adding 13 kills and 28 digs combined over the two matches. Defensively, New Haven was led by senior Lindsey Kim (Rye Brook, N.Y./Blind Brook) who averaged 4.50 digs per set with 36 total on the day.

MATCH ONE RECAP

After dropping the opening set (14-25), the Chargers rallied to secure their first victory of the season with scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-13. Leading the offensive efforts in the opening match was Nowicki who was one of three players in double figures with 14 kills. The junior right side finished her third-straight match in double figures without surrendering an error in 33 total attempts for a .424 attack percentage.

Leading all Chargers in the hitting column was Garden who finished with a .647 attack average, collecting 13 kills with a pair of errors in just 17 total attempts. Rounding out the leading hitters was the rookie Fera who finished with a dozen kills, hitting .333 overall (3 errors, 27 attempts).

With a season-best 33 assists, the senior setter Rios led the Blue and Gold's offense while she was also among three defensive leaders collecting 15 digs for her second of three double doubles on the weekend. Joining her in leading the defense was Kim and Greathead who finished with 16 and 13 digs, respectively.

MATCH TWO RECAP

In the final match of the weekend, the Chargers again dropped their opening set (24-26) before taking the next three (25-19, 25-13, 25-11) to even out their overall record in the 2018 campaign at 2-2. Leading the way was rookie outside hitter Fera who matched her career-high with 14 kills.

Fera was one of two players in double figures as Greathead followed her with 12 kills. Rios and Nowicki finished just shy of joining them in double digits with nine kills apiece. The nine kills for Rios came one shy of her first triple double of the season as she added a team-high 24 assists and 13 digs. Garden would once again put up a hitting showcase as she finished with a .625 attack percentage to lead the team, collecting six kills on eighth attempts with a single error.

Rios' 24 assists led the Chargers setting duo while sophomore Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) followed her with 21. Defensively, five different New Haven players finished in double figures with Kim leading the Blue and Gold for the second straight match, this time finishing with 20 defensive stops. In addition to Rios' double double, Chan, Fera and Greathead all combined for a double double in the match as Fera and Chan each added 13 digs and Greathead finished with 11.

NEXT ON TAP

New Haven will continue its early season tournament play next weekend when they travel to Pennsylvania for the East Stroudsburg Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Chargers will open up the four-match tournament with a doubleheader on Friday afternoon against Jefferson and Queens at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively, at Koehler Fieldhouse.