COMPLETE NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON PREVIEW
FULL 2021 NEW HAVEN SCHEDULE
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Coming off of their 34th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, the New haven women's volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference following the 2021 regular season in a poll of the league's 14 head coaches. The Chargers will kick off the second season under head coach Christa Cooper with the four matches at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament hosted by Clarion University.
The Chargers collected 131 points in the preseason poll, finishing ahead of Stonehill who rounds out the top-five in the field. American International and Bentley finished in a tightly contested top-two with the Yellow Jackets racking up seven of the 13 potential first place votes and Bentley gathering six. The remaining first place tally was presented to Adelphi who finished the voting in sixth place overall. Saint Anselm rounds out the top-five with 136 points good for third overall.
Leading the Chargers into the 2021 campaign will be senior outside hitter Ruby Fera (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) who closed out the 2019 campaign with 249 kills, third most on the team. Junior outside Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) follows Fera as the second leading returner with 161 kills while the Chargers will welcome 10 new faces to the court, including a trio of transfers; Megan Palmer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake), Emma Lazerson (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) and Asiya Way (Denver, Colo./Denver East).
Including the four matches at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament, the Chargers will play a 28-match schedule that includes nine matches on their home court. The home opener for the Blue and Gold will come in the form of the Northeast-10 opener when New Haven hosts preseason favorite American International on September 21.
2021 NE10 Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. American International – 162 (7)
2. Bentley – 146 (6)
3. Saint Anselm – 136
4. New Haven – 131
5. Stonehill – 128
6. Adelphi – 114 (1)
7. Southern Connecticut – 86
8. Franklin Pierce – 85
8. Le Moyne – 85
10. Southern New Hampshire – 69
11. Saint Rose – 44
12. Pace – 43
13. Assumption – 29
14. Saint Michael's – 13
