With two home matches this past weekend to close the regular season, the Chargers took the court on Friday, Nov. 10 ready to dominate. Stakes were high, especially for setter Michelle Henwood, who would be facing her former team, the Saint Anselm Hawks.
New Haven was first to score, taking advantage of an attack error from the Hawks. Carrying this momentum, the Chargers extended their lead with a 4-0 run and kills from outside hitter Macy Brown, middle blocker Kylie Reynolds-Martin and outside hitter Grace Juergens. New Haven was able to maintain control throughout the first set despite a short-lived comeback from Saint Anselm, who closed the gap with a scoring run of their own towards the end of the set. Juergens closed out the opening set for the Chargers with a kill that secured the first set 25-22 and put New Haven up 1-0 in the match.
The tables turned in the second set, with Saint Anselm taking the early lead, forcing the Chargers to play from behind in the set. Three consecutive points allowed New Haven to take the lead for the first time of the second set at 14-13 and a late 4-0 run was the push needed for the Chargers to secure the lead. Brown and Juergens closed out the second set with a kill each, resulting in a 25-21 victory. New Haven was now up 2-0 with a chance to end the match in the third set.
In the third set, the Chargers were first to score, putting up the first two points. The Hawks were quick to respond, putting up two points of their own to tie the set. This energy remained throughout the set for both teams as the Chargers and Hawks traded scores. Later in the set, New Haven advanced their lead and utilized defensive techniques to force mistakes out of Saint Anselm. The Chargers took the last set with a score of 25-21, sweeping the match. Brown led with kills, adding 15 to her total. Henwood, facing her former team, added 37 assists and 13 digs and senior libero Rilee Jessee led the defense with 18 digs. Opposite side Peyton Mast along with Juergens tallied nine kills, followed by Reynolds-Martin with seven.
With one final regular season game to go, which would also be Senior Night for the Chargers, New Haven looked to carry that momentum against the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s College to close out the season and prepare for playoffs. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com.