The 2017 NE-10 Regular Season Champions and defending NE-10 Champion New Haven Chargers took the court Tuesday night to take on the Pace University Setters in the NE-10 Championship Quarterfinals. The Chargers were the #1 seed coming into the match, and received home court advantage throughout the tournament.

Before the match, freshman Kali Greathead said, “Tonight is a big night for us to show what Charger volleyball is all about. We’ve worked really hard throughout the season, and we plan on taking home another W”.

It wasn’t easy, but that is exactly what happened.

The first set looked like a typical #1 seed vs. #8 seed matchup. Pace forced multiple Charger errors, and made New Haven look like a shell of themselves. The setters jumped out to a 16-12 lead and didn’t look back.

The Chargers were able to cut that lead to 16-15, but that was the closest they would get. After a few more errors and miscommunication, the Chargers dropped the first set, 25-21.

Coach Robin Salters then switched up the serving rotation, and that tactic seemed to work. The second set showed how dominant the Chargers could be. New Haven got out to a quick 9-4 lead and maintained a lead throughout the set,winning  25-14. It was much of the same in the third set as the Chargers got out to a commanding 15-9 lead halfway through the set.

Pace slowly crawled its way, and moved  within three points of the Chargers, 21-19, but the Chargers were able to win the set, 25-20.

New Haven took a 2-1 lead, and they needed to take the fourth set to seal the win. With their backs against the wall, Pace came out with a vengeance. The Setters got out to an 8-4 lead and used the same tactics that they used in the first set to disrupt the Charger momentum. The Chargers continued to make service errors and allowed Pace to get out to a 13-6 lead. The Chargers battled back to get within two points and forced a Pace timeout.

With the score 21-20, Senior Alex Bussey came up with a huge block to tie the game at 21. Charger supporters broke out into a “Let’s Go Chargers” chant. The pep band played, the crowd was on its feet, and the fourth set seemed to be in the Chargers’ grasp until Pace got out to a 24-22 lead. The Chargers battled to stay in the set, but Pace won, 25-22, which tied the match at two apiece. The Pace bench was going crazy, as they now had a legitimate chance to knock out the number one seed in the tournament. It was a Cinderella story waiting to happen, but the Chargers weren’t ready to write their own obituary.

Coming into the match, no one expected a fifth set, but a fifth set is what we got. With both teams on the ropes, it was about who wanted it more. The Chargers came out swinging as they were able to get out to a 7-3 lead forcing a Pace timeout. With Charger fans on their feet, New Haven scored three more points, followed by a seven-point run by Pace. With the score 10-10, the ball was in anyone’s court.

The Chargers gained another two-point lead, and never looked back. Junior Lindsey Kim took the serve and the Chargers scored three more points to win the set, 15-10, and — more importantly — win the match 3-2. The fans might have lost a few nails and burned a few calories, but they witnessed a classic. Junior Kristine Rios led the way with a triple double including 13 kills, 31 assists, and 16 digs. Greathead led the team with 20 kills. The Chargers will return to action in the NE-10 Tournament on Friday at Charger Gymnasium.