GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: November 19, 2019
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LOCATION: Stoutenburg Gymnasium | Manchester, N.H.
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GAME DAY LINKS
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LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
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THE FIRST LOOK
The New Haven women's volleyball team has never missed an NE10 Championship since joining the league for the 2008 season, and that won't change this season as the Chargers will open tournament play on Tuesday night as the fifth seed in the eighth-seed tournament. New Haven will open with a quarterfinal match against fourth seeded Saint Anselm with first serve set for 7:00 p.m.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Chargers closed out the regular season with a 9-4 record in Northeast-10 conference play, finishing in a three-way tie Stonehill and Saint Anselm for third place. Based on tiebreakers, that couldn't be completed until a four-way tie for sixth place between Le Moyne, Franklin Pierce Southern Connecticut and Adelphi was broken, the Chargers fell to the fifth seed in the 2019 tournament.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS SAINT ANSELM
In a series dating back to the 2002 campaign, the Chargers own a 14-3 record in the 17 meetings prior to this year's postseason meeting. This meeting will also be the third postseason match-up between the two teams in the last two seasons as they met in the quarterfinals of the NE10 Championship and the quarterfinals of the NCAA East Region Championship in 2018. After opening up the all-time series with nine straight New Haven victories, the Chargers and Hawks have had an even record over the last eight meetings (4-4).
VS SAINT ANSELM IN THE REGULAR SEASON
Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) led the way with 11 kills and a .258 hitting percentage as the Chargers dropped a three set decision to Saint Anselm. Nowicki was one of two Chargers to finish in double figures joined by sophomore Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) who dropped in 10 kills and closed out the match with a .233 hitting percentage. Following Nowicki and Fera in leading the offense was freshman Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) who chipped in a half dozen kills while leading the team with a .357 average, suffering just a single error in 14 attempts. As a team, New Haven finished with a combined 38 kills with the offense marshalled by a pair of setters in the Blue and Gold's six-two rotation. Leading the efforts was freshman Sammie Paguia (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) with 17 assists while junior Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) closed out the match with 14 assists. Defensively, the Chargers were led by freshman libero Julia Guarnieri who was one of two players in double digits with 17 digs. Joining her was Fera who capped off a double double with 10 digs.
NE10 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Chargers are making their 12th all-time appearance in the NE10 Championship Field, in as many years in the league. Overall, New Haven holds a 21-5 (.808) record in the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament, making eight semifinal appearances and seven appearances in the title game. All-Time New Haven has won six Northeast-10 titles, the most recent in 2017. In its entire NE10 Tournament history, the Chargers have played just twice on an opponent's court and holds a 1-1 record in those matches.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven is coming off of a four-set loss to Bentley in the regular season finale. Overall for the season, senior Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) is one of five leading hitters across a balanced attack for the Chargers. She enters Thursday night's match with a team-best 243 kills and a .240 attack percentage. Just behind her in leading the offense is junior Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) (239 kills) and sophomore Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) (235 kills). Rounding out the leading hitters is junior Camille Garden (Atlanta, Ga./Landmark Christian) and freshman Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) adding 182 and 140 kills, respectively. Garden also leads New Haven with 67 total blocks. The Chargers utilize a 6-2 rotation at the setter position with junior Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) (545 assists) and freshman Sammie Paguia (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) (373 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 449 digs, while sophomore Jalynn Finnie (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) and Nowicki follow Garden in the blocking efforts with 47 and 42 total returns, respectively.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Anselm was one of three teams tied for third place following the regular season, as the Hawks closed out the year with back-to-back five set decisions, defeating American International and falling to Adelphi. Leading the Hawks into the postseason is senior outside hitter Catie McCarthy whose team-high 327 kills is second most in the Northeast-10. Overall, she is one of six players with 100+ kills on the season with junior middle blocker Elise Jolly second overall with 227 kills. Facilitating the Hawks offense on the season has been rookie setter Michelle Henwood whose 892 kills is third most in the conference.
UP NEXT
The winner of the quarterfinal between New Haven and Saint Anselm will advance to Championship weekend to face the winner of a quarterfinal match between #1 Bentley and #8 Southern Connecticut. NE10 Championship weekend will take place at the home court of the highest remaining seed and will kick off with semifinal action on Friday, November 22.
