Saturday, Nov. 11 was a big night for the New Haven women’s volleyball team, who honored the team’s seniors while closing out their regular season with a 3-0 sweep over the Saint Michael’s Purple Knights. This victory also secured the title of Northeast-10 (NE-10) Co-Conference Champions and guaranteed second seed in the conference for playoffs.
New Haven will look to make the NE-10 Championship final for the first time since 2021 and potentially win their first conference title since 2017.
Before the start of the match, the Chargers honored senior and four-year starter, Rilee Jessee. Jessee picked up her 1000th career dig against Post University earlier this season, along with her 100th career service ace against Saint Anselm College on Friday night. Additionally, New Haven honored two transfer seniors, setter Michelle Henwood and outside hitter Lydimar Soto De Los Santos.
Jessee opened up serving in the first set after scoring her 100th career ace the night before. Picking up right where she left off, she scored three straight aces to put the Chargers ahead early. New Haven refused to step off the gas, carrying this momentum for a 7-0 run at the start of the match. The Chargers stayed in control for the remainder of the opening set, closing it out with a score of 25-13 and putting the Chargers up 1-0 to start the night.
The second set was much closer than the first with the Purple Knights finding their rhythm and putting up a fight. Both teams traded points back and forth until the Chargers were able to go on a 5-3 run to close out the set, winning it 25-19. The Chargers were up 2-0 after the second set and looked to close out the match early with a 3-0 sweep.
The third set of the night was not much different from the second, with both teams trading points throughout. The Chargers were able to pull away by riding a 3-0 run with a pair of kills from middle blocker Kylie Reynolds-Martin and Soto De Los Santos. The Chargers carried this momentum and closed out the third set strong, winning 25-18 and securing the 3-0 victory over the Purple Knights. Reynolds-Martin led the Chargers with 11 kills as Henwood added 38 assists and Jessee had three aces in the match.
The victory allowed the Chargers to clinch their tenth NE-10 Championship and their first since 2018. With conference play beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Chargers have found themselves in a good place, taking the second seed in the conference. New Haven finished the regular season with an impressive 20-9 overall record and a 10-1 record in the NE-10 conference. The Chargers will host the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s College on Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m. for a rematch to kick off conference play. For more information on this game and those coming up, visit NewHavenChargers.com.