Coming off of their first-round sweep against Saint Michael’s last Tuesday, Nov. 14, the New Haven women’s volleyball team traveled to Garden City, N.Y. for the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 (NE-10) playoffs. With just two games standing between a conference championship, the Chargers took the court ready to continue their championship hopes. New Haven had faced Bentley two other times earlier this season, with both teams putting a win under their belt.
New Haven took an early lead in the first set thanks to points from outside hitter Grace Juergens and opposite side Peyton Mast, followed by outside hitter Macy Brown. Bentley fought back and took the lead in the middle of the set, as the Chargers pressured back but were unable to regain the lead. The opening set ended in favor of Bentley by a score of 25-23.
Now trailing by one, the Chargers went into the second set ready to put up a fight. After splitting the first two points, New Haven went on a 5-0 run with kills from setter Michelle Henwood and middle blocker Amihan Johnson. Carrying this momentum throughout the second set, New Haven was able to hold onto the lead and take their first set of the night 25-15, evening the score to 1-1.
The third set started back-and-forth with both teams putting up points to fight for the lead. New Haven took a steady lead after a 3-0 run led by a kill from Brown to put New Haven ahead. This run forced Bentley to call an early timeout in an attempt to interrupt the momentum. New Haven left the break unphased as they continued to attack on offense and extended their lead even further with a 6-0 run with a kill from Johnson and an ace from libero Evelyn Kay Girard. Refusing to step off the gas pedal, New Haven continued to rally defensively. Things looked up for the Chargers as they closed out the third set with a 5-2 run, ending with a 25-13 victory. Now in the lead, there was only one set that stood between New Haven and the NE-10 championship game.
New Haven came out strong in the first set, leading with a 4-0 run as Henwood took control with a pair of aces. Despite the momentum, the Falcons made it clear they were not going down without a fight. As Bentley fought back later in the set, they were shut down by strong defensive plays and set up Johnson to finish off the fourth and final set with a winning kill. The set ended 25-20 as fans and players erupted with joy and excitement. New Haven advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2021. Leading the Chargers to victory was Brown with 19 kills and 19 digs, followed by Juergens with 15 kills and 14 digs. Henwood also added 42 assists and 17 digs.