The New Haven women’s volleyball team earned their first home win of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking down visiting Le Moyne College in straight sets. It was also Senior Day for the Chargers, who honored their six seniors – Julia Guarniere, Itzel Cruz, Emily Barry, Emma Lazerson and Sammie Paguia – in a ceremony before the game.

With the emotions of the ceremony behind them, the Chargers jumped out to an early lead on Le Moyne in the first set. A kill by middle blocker Kylie Reyonlds-Martin and a service ace from outside hitter Macy Brown started the scoring, as three straight kills from Barry gave New Haven a 5-3 lead. Middle blocker Amihan Johnson then added three straight kills of her own to expand the early lead to five points.

This was all the space that New Haven needed, as they continued to add on from there. Brown, along with a couple more kills, added two more service aces while outside hitter Avery Moore got herself involved, tallying two kills. When the action settled, New Haven walked away from the first set with a dominant 25-13 win.

The Chargers got off to a slower start in the second set, falling behind 9-7 to the Dolphins. However, New Haven went on a 10-3 run to take the lead back, with Brown leading the way after charting two service aces and a kill.

The set remained close throughout with New Haven holding a slim 22-20 advantage. Barry took over from there, connecting on three kills to give the Chargers a 25-21 win in the second set.

With the 2-0 lead, the Chargers entered the third set looking to make it the final. They did just that, using six kills from Brown, five from Barry and a handful of others from their hitters. A kill from Reynolds-Martin iced the game, sealing a 25-16 set win for the Chargers and giving them the straight-set sweep over Le Moyne.

Barry led the Chargers with 15 total kills, with Brown coming in close second with 14. Johnson also broke double-digits, connecting for 11 kills, while Moore and Reynolds-Martin finished with seven and six respectively. Brown led the team with five aces, and Barry, Guarniere and Rilee Jessee all added one. Setter Sophia Leon-Tabor stood out in the facilitator role, finishing with 44 assists.

With the win, New Haven improves to 8-7 (2-1 NE-10) and jumps above .500 for the first time since their second match of the season. Le Moyne falls to 5-6 (1-1 NE-10) with the loss.

The Chargers return to the court on Tuesday for a rematch of the 2021 NE-10 Championship with American International College. It will be a big test for New Haven, as the Yellow Jackets enter the matchup boasting a 14-1 record on the season. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Mass., with a live stream that can be found online at NewHavenChargers.com.