BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — New Haven volleyball competed in the Bearcat Classic hosted by Binghamton University this weekend. Freshman outside hitter,
Marley Alefaio (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes), made the all-tournament team, and
Caroline Johnston (Nolensville, Tenn./Nolensville) recorded her 500th career assist over the weekend.
Game One
New Haven volleyball lost to Temple 3-0 on Friday, with set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 25-16. The Chargers totaled 28 kills and hit .083 at the road match, including 14 kills in the opening set.
In the first set, New Haven moved ahead 6-3 with contributions from Johnston,
Kira Lynch (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown Area), and
Quinn Yenshaw (Williamsburg, Mich./St. Francis). The Chargers stayed ahead until Temple scored five straight points to take a 16-14 lead. New Haven pulled even at 18-18 and 21-21, but Temple closed the set 26-24.
Temple started the second set strong, but New Haven cut the deficit to one at several points. Lynch brought the Chargers even at 10-10, and they briefly led 13-12. Temple eventually stretched the margin to 20-15, and despite a late push from New Haven, Temple won the set 25-21.
The Chargers traded points with Temple early in the third set, with Alefaio contributing to a 10-9 lead. However, Temple responded with an eight-point run to lead 19-11. New Haven reached 14-20, but Temple closed the set 25-16.
Lauren MacKellar (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Northville) led New Haven with 12 kills and 14.5 points, adding five total blocks. Lynch recorded a team-high seven total blocks. Johnston finished with 16 assists, five digs, two kills, and a service ace.
Game Two
The Chargers fell to Binghamton 3-0 on Saturday, with set scores of 19-25, 22-25, 21-25. Despite recording 48 kills, the Chargers committed 26 attack errors and were outblocked 14-3.
Binghamton took an early 5-2 lead, but New Haven rallied from a 9-5 deficit with key plays from Alefaio and MacKellar, tying the set at 10-10. The teams exchanged points to 18-18 before Binghamton scored six straight to close the set 25-19.
In the second set, New Haven battled back to a 10-10 tie and took a 13-12 lead with contributions from Lynch and Johnston. Despite leading 20-18, Binghamton's late surge secured a 25-22 win.
New Haven started the third set with a 3-1 lead, but Binghamton's six-point run shifted momentum. The Chargers closed the gap to 16-15, but Binghamton pulled ahead to win 25-21.
Johnston recorded 34 assists, seven digs, and four kills. MacKellar led with 12 kills and seven digs, while Alefaio added 11 kills and three digs.
Payton Malinoski (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) collected a team-high 11 digs.
Game Three
The Blue & Gold dropped their last game of the weekend to Cornell 3-0 (20-25, 20-25, 23-25) on Saturday. The Chargers finished with 31 kills and a .107 hitting percentage. Alefaio led New Haven with 11 kills and 11.5 points while hitting .276.
Mirella Rederer (Stuttgart, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany/Wirtemberg Gymnasium) served back-to-back aces to put New Haven ahead 5-4, but Cornell moved in front 10-6. A Cornell service error started an eight-point Chargers run, with
Alejandra Mejia (Miramar, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) delivering two aces and Alefaio contributing two kills for a 14-10 lead. After Cornell got back within 15-14, kills from Alefaio and MacKellar pushed New Haven's lead to 17-14. Cornell then scored four straight to go ahead 18-17, and closed the set 25-20.
Alefaio gave New Haven the first point of the second set, but Cornell moved ahead 11-3. The Chargers worked back to 13-11 with Alefaio supplying three kills. After Cornell went up 16-13, MacKellar and Yenshaw had kills in a stretch that put New Haven ahead 17-16. Cornell answered with three straight points to go back in front and closed the set 25-20.
The third set stayed tight early, with New Haven pulling even at 9-9. The Chargers worked back into the set after a Cornell service error, getting a Yenshaw kill and a block by Alefaio and Foster during a stretch that cut the margin to 17-16. Foster added a kill and
Kira Lynch (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown Area) followed with a block to tie the set at 18-18. Cornell moved back in front 23-21, and after a Johnston-Foster block brought New Haven within 24-23, Cornell closed the set 25-23 on a service error.
Johnston finished with 22 assists, eight digs, and two block assists. Mejia served a team-high three aces and added seven digs. Rederer collected a team-high nine digs and added two aces.
The Chargers are 1-8 overall. Up next, New Haven will travel to Newark, N.J., to face New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday, Sept. 18, at noon.
