THE LEAD
The New Haven volleyball team will put its unbeaten home record on the line twice on Saturday when they host Le Moyne in an NE10 Conference match and Mercy in its final non-conference test of the season. Those two matches bookend a battle between Le Moyne and Mercy which completes the tri-match schedule.
SERIES HISTORY VS LE MOYNE
New Haven and Le Moyne meet for the 18th time in the history of the program with the Chargers dominating the all-time series, never taking a defeat against the Dolphins. The series began on October 8, 1993 with that match-up the only over the next 10 seasons before starting the series in September 2002. The Chargers and Dolphins have met once in every season since 2006 with the exception of a pair of meetings in 2008, the first year New Haven competed in the NE10 Championship.
SERIES HISTORY VS MERCY
In a series that dates back to the 1987 campaign, New Haven holds a commanding 24-7 lead against the Mavericks, including victories in the last five meetings and seven of the last eight. For a string of 12 years (1996-07) the Chargers and Mavericks met at least once each season, however since then the squads have met just twice in 2014 and 2017. In the current five-match win streak, the Chargers have surrendered just one set to Mercy.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven rides a five-match win streak into its home tri-match with Le Moyne and Mercy. Leading the Chargers is sophomore
Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) with 126 kills while she is joined in triple digits by junior
Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) (120 kills) and senior
Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) (115 kills). Of the three leading hitters Nowicki leads the way with a .220 attack percentage. Also joining in the offensive threat is junior
Camille Garden (Atlanta, Ga./Landmark Christian) who adds 91 kills while she leads the team with 39 blocks on the year, seventh most in the NE10. The Chargers utilize a 6-2 rotation at the setter position with junior
Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) (325 assists) and freshman
Sammie Paguia (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) (134 assists) splitting the workload. Defensively, New Haven has relied on rookie libero
Julia Guarniere (Milford, N.H./Milford) to do the majority of the work, racking up 233 digs, while Nowicki follows Garden in the blocking efforts with 25 total returns.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Le Moyne returns to the court for the first time in a week and puts a two-match win streak on the line with those victories both in conference action over Assumption and Southern Connecticut. For the season, Le Moyne is led by sophomore outside hitter Mary Talty who has racked up 140 kills one of two players in triple digits for the season. She is joined by senior middle Jacquelyne Ghindia with 123 kills, while redshirt senior middle Anna Hafoka leads the primary hitters with a .291 hitting average (99K, 32E, 288 TA). As has New Haven, the Dolphins have relied on a pair of setters on the season with junior Emily Yancone leading the duo with 282 assists while rookie Margaret Kind adds 132. Sophomore defensive specialist Emily Mosack leads Le Moyne with 146 digs while Ghinidia leads the blocking efforts with 27 total blocks.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Mercy enters its weekend of non-conference matches with a 7-11 overall record and takes a break from ECC play after opening league action with a 1-3 record. For the season, the Mavericks are led by senior outside hitter Imani DeBose who is the only player coming into Charger Gym this weekend with 200+ kills, racking up 208 on the year. Overall, she is one of three players in triple digits with sophomore outside Selma Vulic and sophomore right side Loreto Nunez Casal adding 134 and 109 kills, respectively. Next in line offensively is the Mavericks setter, Natalie Garcia who adds 91 kills to her team-high 501 assists. Defensively, Adriana Lopez-Soto leads Mercy with 235 digs.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend, New Haven will jump back into a two-match a week NE10 schedule on Tuesday, October 15 when they host the Pace Setters. First serve from Charger Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
