WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Returning home to Charger Gymnasium, the University of New Haven Women's Volleyball team looked to get back on the win streak and keep the Elm City under their control as they welcomed the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University in the Elm City Match. After sweeping the Owls in straight sets back in September, in a non-conference meeting, the Chargers went into the match looking for a similar result as this meeting represented a conference match. 

After both teams traded service errors the blue and gold wasted no time showing the Owls whose court, Deborah Chin Court, was rallying off four straight including kills by Amihan Johnson (Tacoma, Wash./Fife High School), Peyton Mast (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) and Kylie Reynolds-Martin (/). That sparked was all the Chargers needed to get them going and climbing to a commanding early lead. Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) continued to spread the wealth around as the kills kept coming as Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) added her name to the stat sheet with a pair of kills and an ace as Henwood continued to find Reynolds-Martin on the slide to keep the Owls on their heals. Down six the Owls called their first timeout trying to slow down the charge by New Haven, but Henwood had other plans adding a kill herself before finding Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) for her first kill 17 points into the first set. The Chargers continued to dominate controlling the tempo and beating the Owls at the net. After a 6-0 run by New Haven with five kills the Owls called their second timeout but once again the blue and gold used the break to their advantage as Peyton Mast (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) went back to back with kills to close the opening set for New Haven who won 25-10. Riding the hot start Juergens took control of the serve and led the Chargers on a 9-0 run that forced a Southern timeout and continued out of the break where New Haven saw their lead grown from 8-4 up to 16-4. With control of the set Head Coach Ana Pego used the opportunity to get more players in and involved and in on the cross-town rivalry as Tori Borton (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers), Amanda Tokam (Sterling, Va./Independence) and Lydimar Soto De Los Santos (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo) all got in as Soto De Los Santos picked up a big kill and Tokam combined with Reynolds-Martin on a block to seal the second set win 25-10. Of the three sets, the third played the toughest as the Owls left it all out on the court. After a 3-0 start to the set New Haven carried the momentum and energy through, rotating their starters and testing new combinations both for this season and the future seasons. Borton and Reynolds-Martin combined on key slides to pick up kills building their connections as Borton also connected with fellow freshmen Katherine Rank (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa) who could not be stopped by the Southern defense picking up three kills on six attempts. Southern while down never let the Chargers pull away and had a chance to take a lead after a 3-0 run of their own but the experience of senior Rilee Jessee (Edinburgh, Ind,/Columbus East) off an attack error by the Owls put New Haven up with a two point lead off an ace that put her three away from 100 career aces. The Owls pressured late but Borton found Avery Moore (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community High School) for set and match point before an attack error by the Owls that went long finished the set and match as New Haven went on to win the third set 25-19 and 3-0 in the match. 10 Chargers registered a kill as Juergens and Reynolds-Martin both posted a 10 kill match. Henwood added 29 assists and 19 digs to her totals as Borton dished out 12 assists.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Rivalry matches continue for New Haven as next up they take on I-95 foe the University of Bridgeport to start their final week of the regular season. The Chargers and Purple Knights face off on Monday, November 6 at Harvey Hubbel Gymnasium with first tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m. All updates, schedules, and post-game recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.