BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women’s volleyball team erased a 5-1 deficit in set five to knock off NYIT, 3-2, and advance to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship Match. The top-seeded Chargers will host second-seed Bridgeport tomorrow night at 7 p.m. with a trip to the 2012 Elite Eight on the line.
 
The five-set win improves the Chargers’ winning streak to 26 matches and moves the nation’s best record to 29-1. The Bears end their 2012 campaign in the semifinal round with a record of 22-10.
 
Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) led all players with 18 kills and a .424 hitting percentage (18-4-33). Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) and Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) joined her in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively, and each fell just shy of a double-double with nine digs apiece. Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) added nine kills, and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona University) registered five finishers. Setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) neared a triple-double, posting eight kills of her own in addition to 53 assists and nine digs. The Chargers hit a cumulative .252 (65-26-155), including two sets hitting .400 or better.
 
Defensively, Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) had a team-best 10 digs alongside the trio with nine apiece. At the net, Cannady got a piece of four of the Chargers’ five team blocks. New Haven limited NYIT to a .195 hitting percentage (59-29-154).
 
Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) had three service aces for New Haven with Candelaria and Olaso each landing a winner as well.
 
Shelby Cable headed the NYIT attack with 16 digs and completed a double-double with 13 digs. Marija Jovanovic dished out 45 assists for the Bears, and Tugce Sirdas led all players with 15 digs.
 
The Chargers ran off the eight points of the match and kept their foot on the gas for the entirety of the first two sets. New Haven led each frame wire-to-wire en route to wins by scores of 25-16 and 25-19 and a fast 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bears fought back, however, taking set three, 25-20, and hanging on to a 25-23 decision in set four to force a fifth set.
 
In the deciding frame, NYIT grabbed a quick 5-1 lead and clung to an 8-6 advantage at the turn. At that point, Cannady slammed home two kills and teamed up with Ane for a block as a part of a 5-1 run that staked New Haven its first lead of the deciding set at 11-9. The Chargers would not relinquish the lead as an Atufunwa kill sealed a second-straight trip to the East Region Championship Match with a 15-13 victory.
 
Tomorrow night at 7 p.m.., New Haven and Bridgeport will meet in the national postseason for the fourth-consecutive season for the NCAA East Region crown. For complete information on the 2012 NCAA Division II East Region Championship, visit NewHavenChargers.com/NCAAVolleyball.