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The Chargers took the court Saturday night (Dec 2) to take on American International in the NCAA Division II East Region Final. The Chargers defeated the Yellowjackets in three sets to move on to the Elite Eight in Pensacola, Florida.

In the first set the Chargers came out to take care of business and it showed on the court. There was a calm, confident feel in the air of Charger Gym and the players took advantage of it. American International came into the match leading the NE-10 in aces, but New Haven did all they could to keep that stat in the books. In the middle of the set, New Haven took a 17-13 lead, and kept control of the set. With the help of Charger nation, the Chargers were able to keep the pressure on and win the set 25-19.

The Chargers have shown all of the NE-10 that when they go up a set, it is very hard to stop them. In the second set American International came out with some energy, matching the Chargers point for point. With the set 10-7, the Chargers reached back and pulled out a run that Charger nation hadn’t seen all tournament. New Haven went on a 15-point run while only allowing two more Yellowjacket points. The Chargers crushed the Yellowjackets 25-9 in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

If the NE-10 thought it was hard to come back down one set against the Chargers, the chances of coming back down two sets are astronomical. With Charger nation on their feet, the Chargers were ready to finish things off.

In the third set New Haven got out to a 6-2 lead but American International countered with an eight-point run of their own to make it 10-9. The Yellowjackets had been down the whole match but showed a little life in the third set. If they were going to go down, they weren’t going to go down without a fight. Point after point the Yellowjackets stayed in the set but the Chargers eventually turned on the jets. With the score 11-10, the Chargers went on a five-point run to bring the set to 16-10.

After only giving up eight more points the Chargers were able to win the set 25-18 in convincing fashion. The Chargers came to take care of business, and that is exactly what they did. Senior Caroline Martins led the Chargers with 17 kills on the night while junior Lindsey Kim led the team with 17 digs. The Chargers out-killed the Yellowjackets 44-35 in the match, and only allowed three yellowjacket aces.

The Chargers will play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on December 7.