SYRACUSE, N.Y. – For the 12th time this season junior Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) finished in double figures to lead the University of New Haven women's volleyball team (13-3, 5-0 NE10) in a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-21, 25-18) of Le Moyne as part of a two-match weekend in upstate New York. Nowicki was the lone Charger in double figures as she closed out the afternoon with 15 kills, tying the second most of her collegiate career.
Nowicki also led the Blue and Gold with a .438 attack percentage, suffering just one miscue in 32 total attempts. Overall, New Haven combined for just six errors on the day, compiling a team hitting percentage of .286 with senior setter Kristine Rios (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) leading the way in a two-setter rotation with 30 assists.
Joining the Chargers right side in leading the offensive was sophomore middle blocker Camille Garden (Atlanta, Ga./Landmark Christian) who didn't suffer an error until the third and final set, finishing with eight kills which came on 20 swings for a .350 average. Rounding out the hitting leaders was sophomore Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) who finished errorless with six kills and freshman Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) who finished with five kills with one error.
Defensively, New Haven was led by its senior setter Rios who finished with 14 digs, one of two players in double figures. Senior libero Brianna Mirmina (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) followed her with 11 digs while Fera finished just shy of double figures with nine defensive stops.
As a team, the Chargers turned back 12 Dolphin attack attempts with three of those blocks of the solo variety. Leading the way individually was Garden who closed out the match tying her career-high with six total blocks, two of which came as solo put backs. Fera and freshman Jalynn Finnie (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) followed Garden with four blocks each.
New Haven will continue its upstate New York swing with a second match in less than 24 hours, taking on a perennial power from the East Coast Conference Daemen University on Sunday afternoon. Opening serve against the Wildcats is slated for 12:00 p.m. at Lumsden Gymnasium.
