The University of New Haven club volleyball team hosted the 2017 Winter Open Tournament Saturday, Dec. 2 and it was a success. There were five teams from three colleges, and two club teams from the community that played. The five teams in the tournament were New Haven, Assumption College, Boston College, Team Wesley and Team Sonny. New Haven started the tournament with Boston College and they struggled losing 2-0. After the first round of games, Boston College looked like the favorites because they were a strong team with many attacking options and a tough defense. Team Wesley also looked solid because they were lead by a star hitter that looked like he couldn’t be stopped for the entire tournament. Then the University of New Haven played Assumption College which they were able to beat even though they played some of their backups. They beat Assumption 2-0, but because it was tight the Chargers had to make clutch plays. Assumption College put up a tough fight throughout the whole tournament and were even able to pick up a win against Team Sonny. The Chargers also played Team Sonny and beat them in two sets. Once again the Chargers were able to use most of their squad in this match to get the win. This was great for the team so that some of the young bloods for the Chargers were able to get some important minutes in a tournament with a playoff like atmosphere. The Chargers were a tough fight for most teams including Team Wesley, but they couldn’t prevail because they lost in three sets. Once again the Chargers used squad rotation, but they were unable to beat a tough Wesley team who ended up being in the final. The championship trophy went to Boston College who beat Wesley in the final. Boston College showed that volleyball is a team effort and it can’t just be centered around one or two players. The Chargers ended up in third place and were able to give many players some playing time at key moments. This will help the team grow. This Chargers team looks like it will be dangerous when the season comes because they have the skills to compete with the best teams in club volleyball.