THE BASICS

- Score: New Haven 3, Assumption 0

- Records: Assumption (1-7, 0-1 NE-10), New Haven (4-3, 1-0 NE-10)

- Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laska Gymnasium)

The Lead: New Haven used some clutch hitting to escape with victories in the first two sets, before finding their stride in the final set to take down Assumption 3-0 in the conference opener for both teams on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Hounds actually jumped out to a 6-5 lead on a Tess Haller (Cape Elizabeth, Maine / Cape Elizabeth) kill early in the first set, before the Chargers answered with six straight points. Assumption kept it close and trailed just 19-17 before New Haven pulled away for the win, 25-20.

- In the second set Assumption opened up a 7-2 advantage early, and extended it to 11-5 on a kill by Haller, which forced a Charger timeout. The Hounds led 12-8 later on, though New Haven took seven of the next eight points to pull in front.  Assumption did come back to tie it 22 apiece and then, facing a set point of 24-22, managed to draw event 24-24. The Chargers did come back to take the final two points for the 26-24 win.

- New Haven opened up 7-3 lead to begin the final set and then used a 6-0 later to grab a 22-12 advantage. The teams traded points the rest of the way as the Chargers earned the 25-14 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

- New Haven hit .144 in the match, with 40 kills and 22 errors while the Hounds hit -.009 with 22 kills in the contest. The Chargers also had more digs (61-56), though Assumption totaled seven blocks to six for New Haven.

- Haller hit .333 and led the team with eight kills, while Julia Goyette (Randolph, Mass. / Ursuline Academ) added six kills and seven digs. Kiki Romanik (San Rafael, Calif. / Sir Francis Drake), meanwhile, paced the Hounds with 20 assists and six digs.

- Defensively, Olivia Burke (Salem, N.H. / Salem) led the team with five blocks, while Maria Chrisom (Dover, N.H. / Saint Thomas Aquinas) added 20 digs and Kellie Smith (Richland, Mich. / Gull Lake) had ten.

- Meghan Kennely led the Chargers with 18 digs and ten kills, while Nicole Morales added eight kills and Kristine Rios had nine. Rios also had 12 assists and eight digs in the contest.

UP NEXT

- Assumption returns to action on Tuesday when the team travels to face Southern Connecticut State at 7 pm.