WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women’s volleyball team defeated Saint Michael’s College 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-12) to claim its third consecutive undefeated conference season. The Chargers have now won 45-straight regular season conference matches, dating back to 2007 and the days of the East Coast Conference. New Haven concludes the regular season with a 23-2 overall record and a perfect 15-0 mark in the Northeast-10 Conference.
The Chargers jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set, scoring the first 10 points off service from Keidy Candelaria. UNH continued to roll, and led by 15-points, 20-5, later in the set. Sara Malmlov capped the set with a kill for New Haven’s 25th point.
The second set was played much closer. The Purple Knights went point-for-point with the Chargers and found themselves tied at 14-14. Sparked by another Malmlov kill, the Chargers took control and led 20-16 eight points later. UNH scored the final two points off errors and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
The final set was played very short as well as the Chargers once again jumped out early. The Purple Knights rallied and brought the score within one point at 9-8, but the Chargers then rattled off five straight points off Heather Ladao’s serves and took a 13-8 lead. The Chargers maintained a lead and would eventually score four unanswered points to get to match point at 24-11. After the Purple Knights registered a kill, Saint Michael’s suffered a service error and the Chargers completed a 25-12 victory.
Malmlov led New haven with a blistering .545 hitting percentage off 14 kills and two errors on 22 attempts. The senior added 10 digs and one assist in the win. Tymika Duncan swung at a .462 clip off seven kills, one error and 13 attempts, while Liz Akinbiyi added a .400 percentage off seven kills, one error and 15 attempts. Keidy Candelaria recorded another 10 kills for the Chargers. Chelsey Alpough lead the match with 33 assists, along with six digs.
The Chargers now move on to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship tournament which will begin with the first round (quarterfinals) on Tuesday, November 9. The Chargers, who earned the top seed, will host the eighth seed on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Charger Gymnasium. The winner will advance to the semifinals which will be hosted on Friday, November 12 at the top remaining seed.
