WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women’s volleyball team needed just 62 minutes to sweep visiting Massachusetts Lowell in a Northeast-10 matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Chargers hit .364 in the match en route to recording their 12th-consecutive win by set scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 25-17.
New Haven improves to 15-1 overall and 7-0 in Northeast-10 action. The River Hawks dip below .500 at 8-9 with a 3-4 conference tally.
Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) and Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) shared the match high with 13 kills apiece. Cannady hit .600 (13-1-20) and added six blocks, while Candelaria posted a .476 hitting percentage (13-3-21) and rounded out a double-double with a match-best 11 digs.
Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) added seven kills from the middle, Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) put down four and Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona) each recorded one finisher.
The offense was run through reigning Northeast-10 Setter of the Week Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawaii/Kamehameha), who distributed 37 assists in addition to three kills of her own. The sophomore also had a hand in four of New Haven’s seven team blocks.
Behind Candelaria’s 11 digs were eight from the back row apiece by Ane and Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai’i/Le Jardin Academy).
The Chargers landed a season-best 12 aces on the River Hawks. Lee accounted for a personal-best five winners, while Olaso added three. Bai Zhang (China/Shan Dong Zi Bo No. 10 / China Shan Dong Normal University) dropped in a pair of aces, and Candelaria and Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wisc./Madison West) each had one.
Sierra Brown led Massachusetts Lowell with eight kills. Olivia Parkins ran the offense and dished out 26 assists, and Carolyn Eddy helmed the back row with nine digs.
The River Hawks gained an early advantage in set one at 6-5, but an attack error followed by a block from Cannady and Dalton put the Chargers on top, 7-6. This marked the last time that Massachusetts Lowell would pull even or in the lead in the match. New Haven led by as many as 10 points in set one, built an 11-point margin in set two and ran off the first four tallies en route to leading by as many as nine points in the third and final frame.
Today’s contest started a three-match homestand for the Chargers. New Haven hosts NE-10 foe Saint Rose on Oct. 16 and welcomes perennial region power Dowling to Charger Gym on Oct. 19. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NewHavenChargers.com.
