GAME DAY INFORMATION
|
DATE: December 5, 2019
|
LOCATION: Quealy Gymnasium | Rockville Centre, N.Y.
|
|
GAME DAY LINKS
|
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
|
|
|
|
THE FIRST LOOK
The New Haven women's volleyball team returns to the national championship tournament for the 14th straight season earning one of five at-large bids to the East Region Championship hosted by Molloy. New Haven will once again begin its postseason run against a familiar foe, Saint Anselm, who the Chargers defeated in five sets in the East Region quarterfinals last season.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Chargers closed out the regular season with a 16-9 overall record, including a record of 16-6 against East Region competition. Following the determination of the three automatic bids from the region, the remaining top-five teams according to the regional rankings earn the five at-large bids and make up the full field of eight.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS SAINT ANSELM
In a series dating back to the 2002 campaign, the Chargers own a 14-4 record in the 18 meetings prior to this year's NCAA regional meeting. This match-up will also be the fourth postseason battle 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).
LAST TIME VS SAINT ANSELM
Camille Garden (Atlanta, Ga./Landmark Christian) drilled a career-high 17 kills as the Chargers dropped a five-set decision to Saint Anselm in the quarterfinal round of the NE10 Championship. Garden was one of two players to finish in double figures as
Mallory Nowicki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) added 12 kills to the Chargers offense. Among the two leading hitters, Garden led the pair and the team with a .500 attack percentage with her 17 kills coming on 28 attempts with three errors. As a team, New Haven finished the night hitting .152 with a combined 50 kills. Facilitating that offense was the setting duo of
Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) and
Sammie Paguia (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) who finished with 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Leading the defensive efforts was libero
Julia Guarniere (Milford, N.H./Milford) who finished with 22 digs, one of five different players to finish with double digits. New Haven also combined for nine total blocks and 11 service aces with Garden leading the blocking efforts with five total blocks and Paguia leading in unreturned serves with a trio of aces.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Chargers make their 34th appearance in the NCAA Championship Field. This year's trip to the national tournament is the 14th straight year that New Haven has earned a bid, compiling an overall record of 21-13 in that same time frame. During the current streak, the Chargers have advanced to the semifinals seven times, including the last three seasons, and won the Regional Championship four times. Overall in the 33 NCAA Championship appearances, New Haven holds a record of 37-33.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven is coming off of a five-set loss to Saint Anselm in the quarterfinals of the NE10 Championship. 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 the NCAA tournament with a team-best 255 kills and a .240 attack percentage. Just behind her in leading the offense is junior
Kali Greathead (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) and sophomore
Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) each with 242 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 199 and 149 kills, respectively. Garden also leads New Haven with 72 total blocks. The Chargers utilize a 6-2 rotation at the setter position with junior
Angela Chan (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) (563 assists) and freshman
Sammie Paguia (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) (390 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 480 digs, while sophomore
Jalynn Finnie (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) and Nowicki follow Garden in the blocking efforts with 50 and 45 total returns, respectively.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Anselm has gone to five sets in three five-set decision in its last four matches, falling to eventual NE10 champion Bentley in four sets in the conference tournament semifinals. Leading the Hawks into the postseason is senior outside hitter Catie McCarthy whose team-high 353 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 259 kills. Facilitating the Hawks offense on the season has been rookie setter Michelle Henwood whose 982 assists is third most in the conference.
UP NEXT
The winner of the quarterfinal between New Haven and Saint Anselm will advance to the East Region semifinal and face the winner of top seeded Molloy and eighth seeded Adelphi. The semifinal round is scheduled for Friday, December 6 with the first match of the day scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
