SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A hard-fought battle all the way through saw the New Haven women's volleyball team fall in five-sets to American International in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Game.

THE LEADERS

As a team the New Haven offense converted 58 of its 190 attack attempts for kills, for a .195 hitting percentage on the night, with freshman setter Sophia Leon-Tabor (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) dishing out 52 of the teams 55 assists on the night. Leading the pack on the attack was senior right-side Jessica Akiona (Kapolei, Hawaii/La Pietra- Hawaii School for Girls) who hammered 16 kills, followed by a pair of players with 12 kills apiece in junior outside Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and freshman outside Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac).

All three of those players completed a double-double with their efforts on the defensive end, paced by a team-high 19 digs from Brown, 16 from Akiona, and 15 from Barry. Joining them in the digs column were sophomore libero Rilee Jessee (Edinburgh, Ind,/Columbus East) with 16 receptions and Leon-Tabor with 13. At the tape Barry collected the lone solo block for the Chargers, and tied senior middle Asiya Way (Denver, Colo./Denver East) with 3.0 for the team-high in total blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue and Gold gained the upper hand in the first set as they stretched out a 10-4 advantage early on, but the AIC attack would counter with nine unanswered points to take a two-point lead. The Chargers would attempt a comeback of their own, but the Yellow Jackets were able to maintain momentum to stretch and hold a four-point advantage, taking a 25-21 win.

New Haven gained the momentum once again in the second, and after trading the first six points evenly, were able to gain a three-point advantage, and maintain at least a one-point lead throughout. With the two sides deadlocked at 20, the Blue and Gold rattled off three straight points, and traded the next two for set point. AIC cut into the deficit by two before Way and Brown set back an attack by the home side to level the match at one apiece with a 25-23 win.

The Chargers and Yellow Jackets kept the contest close in the early portion of the third frame, standing level at nine before New Haven scored three straight to take a 12-9 lead. AIC stayed within three points, but the visitors were able to keep control of the contest extended a 23-20 lead. The home side would rattle off three points to draw the match at 23 before back to back kills by Way gave the Chargers a 25-23 win in the set.

Once again, the two sides traded points back in fourth in set four, leveling the match at six before the Yellow Jackets scored four of the next five to take a three point lead. New Haven was able to cut the deficit to one on two different occasions before AIC was able to extend a five-point lead and see it through to a 25-17 win, forcing a decisive fifth set to decide the conference champion.

The two sides exchanged three point runs to open the final stanza before the Yellow Jackets broke out to a two-point lead. The visitors would keep the set within two, before AIC rattled off back-to-back points to claim the title.

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