After opening the season with 13 consecutive matches on the road, the New Haven women’s volleyball team returned to Charger Gymnasium for the first time in 2022. The result didn’t go the Chargers’ way, however, as they dropped the match 1-3 to Southern New Hampshire University in their second Northeast-10 (NE-10) matchup of the season.

The first set started well for New Haven, as they relied on the arms of their young front line. Freshmen Kylie Reynolds-Martin, Amihan Johnson and Avery Moore all contributed kills in the set, as senior outside hitter Emily Barry added three of her own. The New Haven defense carried the team in the set though, as they earned nine straight points on blocks and SNHU service errors.

This took the set from a 9-9 tie to an 18-10 New Haven advantage, allowing them to take an insurmountable lead. As such, the Chargers walked away with a dominant first set victory.

The second set was the complete opposite, as the Penmen were in control for much of the time to take a 25-15 win. Sophomore outside hitter Macy Brown got onto the scoresheet in the set, tallying three kills to pace New Haven; Johnson also added another three kills to her total in the set.

The momentum continued to swing in the Penmen’s favor during the third set, as they outpaced the Chargers once again. With SNHU up 5-4, they rattled off five straight points to take a 10-4 lead. They then used another seven point streak to take an 19-10 lead, and effectively take New Haven out of the set.

Just like that, after starting the match strong, New Haven was on its heels trying to rally.

The team showed life in the final set, even after once again falling behind. With the set at 19-12, the Chargers went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to two. Three blocks on the front line, plus kills from Brown and Moore, sparked the run, as the New Haven bench caught life despite being down.

However, it wouldn’t be enough as SNHU rattled off the final four points to take a 25-20 win in the final set.

Barry and Reyonolds-Martin led a balanced New Haven attack, tallying eight kills each. Brown added seven kills of her own and led the team with 18 digs, while Johnson and Moore connected for five. Sophomore setter Sophia Leon-Tabor contributed 25 assists to lead the team, as Brown and sophomore defensive specialist Carleigh Vedder were the only two Chargers to connect on aces, with two and one respectively.

With the loss, New Haven falls back to .500 at 7-7 (1-1 NE-10) and snaps their four-game winning streak. On the other side, SNHU improves to 7-3 (1-1 NE-10).

Volleyball returns to the floor on Saturday as New Haven hosts Le Moyne College with the match slated to begin at 4 p.m. For more information on the upcoming schedule, or a live stream of the next game, visit NewHavenChargers.com.