MANCHESTER, N.H. – The University of New Haven women’s volleyball team ran its winning streak to 15 matches with a 3-0 win at Southern New Hampshire on Saturday evening by set scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-12. Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) had a team-high 12 kills for the Chargers.
New Haven, which has not lost a match since Sept. 8, now stands at 18-1 on the season with a 9-0 Northeast-10 record. The Chargers have now put together a winning streak of 15 matches or more in consecutive seasons. The Penmen dip below .500 at 9-10 and 1-6 in conference play.
Candelaria hit .367 (12-1-30) for the match as the Chargers collectively swung at a .296 (38-9-98) clip. Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) had nine kills and Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) hammered home six. Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) added five finishers, Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona) had three and Bai Zhang (China/Shan Dong Zi Bo No. 10 / China Shan Dong Normal University) landed two.
In addition to one kill of her own, Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawaii/Kamehameha) distributed a match-best 34 assists. Ane is the two-time reigning Northeast-10 Setter of the Week.
Defensively, libero Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai’i/Le Jardin Academy) picked up a team-high 17 kills, while Zhang tallied nine from the back row. The Chargers were strong at the net as well with 12 team blocks. Atufunwa had a hand in eight of the rejections, while Lee was a part of five stuffs. The New Haven defense held Southern New Hampshire to a .081 (34-24-124) hitting percentage.
The Penmen were led by a match-best 14 kills from Erica Solomon. Catherine Cotton distributed 31 assists for Southern New Hampshire, and Kendra Mikuta led all players with 26 digs.
New Haven will remain on the road to meet Adelphi on Tuesday, Oct. 23 before returning to Charger Gym on Friday, Oct. 26 for a 4:30 p.m. meeting with Saint Michael’s.
