WEST HAVEN Conn. – Coming off a pair of sweeps and opening up conference play with a sweep of cross town rival, Southern Connecticut State University, the University of New Haven Women's Volleyball team looked to keep the momentum going and pick up their second straight conference win as they opened up NE10 play on their home court with a meeting with the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).
New Haven and SNHU traded points early as it was SNHU that had the early lead, but never pulled away as New Haven had responses to every small run by SNHU. Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township), sent a message that sparked New Haven with a kill to go on a run that started a run where New Haven would not let SNHU see another lead until early in the third. With a lead New Haven continued to stretch the lead, but SNHU kept battling, keeping New Haven on their toes. Peyton Mast (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) was the hot hand in the first set, and Tori Borton (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) continued to find her on the outside to pick up big kills and keep New Haven up in the set. Late in the opening set, Mast and Amber Williams (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood) continued to lead the attack and each picked up kills on a 4-0 run as New Haven took the opening set 25-18 and go up 1-0 in the match. In the second set, New Haven and Sofia Kamke (Santa Catarina, Brazil/Escola Tecnica do Vale do Itajai) opened up the set on a 12-0 run where New Haven took any wind out of the sails of SNHU as Kamke and Mast kept the momentum rolling with Mast adding four kills in the rally and a pair of aces and a kill by Kamke. SNHU picked up a point late and added some momentum, but New Haven never let SNHU back into the set as Tori Borton (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) read the defense of SNHU and dumped over a kill in two, to win the match 25-13 and go up 2-0 in the match. Looking to break out the brooms for the third straight match, New Haven turned service over to Kamke again to start the third and looked to open up on another run like in the second. Kamke put New Haven up 2-0 to start the match but SNHU got on the board sooner than in the second. SNHU took their first lead since the opening set, but New Haven quickly responded and jumped back out in front of SNHU. Similar to the opening set, New Haven would extend their lead but it was SNHU battling back keeping the score close. Three straight kills by three different Chargers, forced a timeout by SNHU. Out of the break both teams continued to trade points, but New Haven was able to rally and keep their lead. Katharine Rank, who continued to be a key piece for New Haven out of the middle, ended the match with her seventh kill to win the third 25-21 and sweep the match 3-0. Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) and Peyton Mast (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy), each had 11 kills to lead the attack as Tori Borton (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) posted a double-double with 34 assists and 15 digs in the win.
With three-straight sweeps and three-straight wins, New Haven will look to make it four as they return to Deborah Chin Court on Tuesday, October 15 to welcome the Hawks of Saint Anselm University for their Faculty and Staff Appreciation game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM from Charger Gymnasium on the Charger Sports Network on FloSports. All updates, schedules, and post-match recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.
