NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The University of New Haven women’s volleyball team ran its winning streak to nine matches and remained unbeaten in Northeast-10 play with a Saturday afternoon sweep at Merrimack. The Chargers took the match by set scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-12.
New Haven now stands at 12-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference action. The Warriors drop to 7-9 overall with an 0-3 NE-10 mark.
Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) led the way in kills with nine as six Chargers had three or more finishers. Joining Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) with seven kills was Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty), who also shared the team high of 13 digs. Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) posted six kills on 13 errorless swings, hitting .462 and boosting the Chargers’ team hitting percentage to .243 (35-10-103). Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona) and setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawaii/Kamehameha) had three kills apiece, with Ane also dishing out 28 assists.
Defensively, Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai’i/Le Jardin Academy) matched Lee with 13 digs, and Bai Zhang (China/Shan Dong Zi Bo No. 10 / China Shan Dong Normal University) added nine from the back row. At the net, Cannady had a hand in seven of New Haven’s 14 team blocks. Atfunwa posted five stuffs and Ane was a part of four rejections.
The Chargers also landed seven aces, guided by Candelaria’s three winners. Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wisc./Madison West) dropped in two, and Lee and Olaso each had one.
Merrimack’s Stephanie Sheehan led all players with 11 kills as the Warriors hit .086 (38-28-116). Setter Brianna Trabucco doled out 29 assists, and Madison Burke had a match-best 17 digs.
The Chargers’ three-match road swing continues this week at Assumption and Bridgeport. Action returns to Charger Gym on Saturday, Oct. 13 for a 1 p.m. visit from Massachusetts Lowell.
