FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Top Seeded New Haven Sweeps AIC for 14th NCAA East Region Championship
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Behind a match-high 17 kills from senior outside hitter Caroline Martins, the University of New Haven volleyball team scored a straight-set victory over the sixth-seeded American International Yellow Jackets to win its 14th NCAA Division II East Region Championship.
Martins was one of four Chargers representing New Haven on the East Region All-Championship team, joined by junior setter Kristine Rios, sophomore outside hitter Kali Greathead and senior middle blocker Alex Bussey. Additionally, regional runner-up American International placed three players on the All-Championship team with sophomore outside hitter Jana Potic, senior outside hitter Annie Boele and junior outside hitter Diva Rivas-Reyes all securing the honor.
Rounding out the All-Championship team was Molloy’s sophomore right side Carly Banks and senior defensive specialist Dakota O’Neill as well as Southern Connecticut’s junior middle hitter Alyssa Gage, sophomore outside hitter Gabriela Vazquez and junior outside hitter Leanna Jadus.
As a team, New Haven finished the three-set match with an impressive .388 attack percentage, compiling 44 total kills and suffering just four errors in 103 total attempts. In addition to Martins, Greathead and Sophomore Mallory Nowicki finished with seven kills apiece. Of the pair, Nowicki closed out the match with an unblemished hitting performance in 13 attempts, all totaling a .538 attack percentage.
In addition to her 17 kills, Martins closed out the regional championship with a match-high .571 attack percentage which included a single error in 28 total attacks. Rounding out the Chargers offense was senior Lexis Peterson who chipped in five kills while Rios and Bussey each finished with four.
Defensively, New Haven was led by sophomore libero Lindsey Kim who was the only New Haven player in double figures with 17 digs while Martins finished just shy of a double double with nine.
Leading the Yellow Jackets on the night was Boele and Rivas-Reyes who each finished out the match with 10 kills. Boele led American International with a .318 attack percentage with her 10 kills coming on 22 total attempts. As a team, AIC finished the night with a .124 attack percentage, combining for 35 total kills.
With the victory, New Haven advances to the National Quarterfinals for the 14th time in program history and the first time since 2014. The Chargers will learn their next opponent on Sunday afternoon in a national announcement of the Final Eight. Following a reseeding, that announcement will take place on the @NCAADII Twitter page.
2017 NCAA Division II East Region All-Championship Team
Annie Boele, American International
Jana Potic, American International
Diva Rivas-Reyes, American International
Carly Banks, Molloy
Dakota O’Neill, Molloy
Alex Bussey, New Haven
Kali Greathead, New Haven
Caroline Martins, New Haven
Kristine Rios, New Haven
Alyssa Gage, Southern Connecticut
Leanna Jadus, Southern Connecticut
Gabriela Vazquez, Southern Connecticut
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at New Haven
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