WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The New Haven women's volleyball team extend its win streak to double digits with a four-set win over Franklin Pierce Saturday afternoon. With the win the Blue and Gold have now won ten matches in a row and 13 of their last 14 matches, moving to 15-5 overall, and an unbeaten 5-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play.
The opening set was closely contested throughout, as neither side was able to gain more than a three-point advantage. The Chargers were able to gain a two-point lead late, but the Ravens would counter to tie the score at 24, sparking a three-point turnaround to take the opener 26-24. The battle would continue into the second, before a 6-2 New Haven run pushed the lead to five at the midway point the set. Franklin Pierce would cut the deficit to four, immediately followed by a 7-2 extended run by the Chargers, who would go on to take the set 25-16 and tie the match at one apiece.
In the third New Haven would lead 10-9, before going on to score 15 of the final 19 points in the set, taking a 25-13 win and a
2-1 lead in the set. The trend of close openers continued into the fourth set, with the Blue and Gold holding a one-point edge, before rallying eight straight points off the serve of junior Itzel Cruz (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) to extend a 16-8 advantage. A 9-3 run by the Chargers put the match out of reach for their opponent, taking a 25-11 victory in the set, and win the match three sets to one.
As a team the New Haven attack finished with its third-best hitting percentage of the year at .340 converting 64 of 147 total attempts, the second most kills by the team this season. Junior outside Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) led a group of three Chargers to finish in double-digits with a season-high 20 kills, followed by senior right-side Jessica Akiona (Kapolei, Hawaii/La Pietra- Hawaii School for Girls) with a career-best 17 hammers. Sophomore Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) was the third Charger in double-figures on the attack with 10 kills of her own in addition to a team-high three service aces, just ahead of Cruz and classmate Julia Guarniere (Milford, N.H./Milford) who each had two. The hot streak continued for freshman setter Sophia Leon-Tabor (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) who finished with her second-highest output of her career dropping 51 assists to move her season total to 739, fifth-most in all of Division II.
Defensively, the Blue and Gold corralled 76 digs across the four sets, highlighted by Akiona who completed a double-double on the day marking another career-high as she finished with 24 digs to lead all players. Barry and Brown followed her with 14 each, and sophomore libero Rilee Jessee (Edinburgh, Ind,/Columbus East) with 12. On the block, Akiona and senior middle Jalynn Finnie (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) finished with a solo block and a pair of assists, with Akiona provided a pair of assists, and Barry providing a solo rejection.
The Blue and Gold will return to action Tuesday, making a trip to Long Island to take on Adelphi. First serve from Garden City, N.Y. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
