SPRINGFIELD, Mass – In a battle of undefeated teams and for solo first place in the conference the University of New Haven volleyball team traveled to Springfield to take on the Yellowjackets of American International College in a clash of titans with playoff implications.

New Haven jumped out to a hot start in the match and Amber Williams (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood) in her return to Springfield against her former squad and made an impact in the first set as the Chargers found an early rhythm and Tori Borton (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) found her attackers and spread it around to keep the Yellowjackets guessing. New Haven won the first set 25-22 and took the early lead in the match. In the second set there was late set drama. New Haven had the lead late but the Yellowjackets came back and got to set point first. Amber Williams (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood) was not going to give anything easy to her former squad and picked up the kill to tie the set at 24 before giving New Haven the lead again with a back-to-back kill to go up 25-24. After the Yellowjackets time out, it was an attack error by AIC that saw New Haven win 26-24 and lead the match 2-0. In the third AIC bounced back and with the pressure on them forced a fourth set as New Haven dropped the third set 25-14. The Chargers bounced back in the fourth and led early but would drop the fourth set, bringing the match to a highly anticipated fifth set. Both teams traded points back and forth going one for one with each other and were tied 13-13 with each other late. AIC however would pick up the final two points as New Haven dropped the fifth set and fell in the match 3-2. Amber Williams (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood) led the attack with 17 kills as Payton Malinoski (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) had 24 digs in the match.

The Chargers now have another big test as they welcome the Panthers of Adelphi to West Haven in a rematch of the NE10 Championship match from a year ago on Long Island. The Panthers come to Charger Gymnasium on Tuesday October 29, for the Chargers Pink Game. All updates, schedules, and post-match recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.