Games #22-23 vs University of New Haven (NEC)
Info: Friday, Oct. 31 / Saturday, Nov. 1
West Haven, Conn. | The Hazell Center | 6:00 P.M. / 1:00 P.M.
Watch: NEC Front Row (Friday) / NEC Front Row (Saturday)
Live Stats: https://newhavenchargers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

West Haven, Conn. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team is headed to take on NEC newcomer New Haven in a pair of conference matches on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

Matchup History:
New Haven currently holds a 19-1 record against the Dolphins as the two programs met in five non-conference matches from 1993-2007 before the Chargers joined Le Moyne in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2008. 

From 2008-2022, the programs met once per year with the 'Phins taking their lone victory in the series on the road in 2019.

2025 marks the first season with Le Moyne and New Haven as NCAA Division I conference opponents as the Chargers joined the NEC prior to the beginning of the school year. 

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne has played to a 4-18 record overall with a 4-7 mark in conference play through 22 matches this season.

Le Moyne opened the year in the Salt City Classic from Aug. 29-31 where they suffered losses at the hands of both Rider (1-3) and Syracuse (0-3) while downing Niagara (3-2) in their lone victory of the season this far. The team then traveled to Delaware to take part in a three-match set at the Blue Hen Invitational from Sept. 6-7. Le Moyne fell in their three matchups to Hampton (2-3), Virginia Tech (0-3), and host Delaware (0-3) before traveling to Maryland for the Navy invitational on Sept. 12-13. 

The Dolphins dropped their first match to Gardner-Webb (0-3) before rounding out the weekend with a loss at the hands of Navy in similar three-set fashion. The squad then returned home for a mid-week home match with Canisius on Sept. 17 where they fell in three sets before dropping both legs of the Syracuse Invitational against St. John's (0-3) and Siena (0-3) from Sept. 19-20. The Dolphins then dropped their non-conference finale on the road against Holy Cross, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Le Moyne dropped the opening series of their conference slate against LIU at home in three sets from Oct. 3-4 before dropping a midweek matchup on the road against FDU (0-3) on Oct. 8. The squad then swept their season series against Chicago State (3-1and 3-0) at home for their first NEC wins of 2025 on Oct. 10-11.

Since mid-October, the Dolphins dropped two five-set matches on the road against Stonehill from Oct. 17-18 before falling to CCSU in three sets at home on Oct. 24 and sweeping the Blue Devils in a similar three-set fashion the following day. Most recently, the squad forced FDU to five sets at home on Wednesday, Oct. 29 but eventually fell to the Knights, 2-3. 

Junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) leads Le Moyne with 217.0 points and 192 kills while sitting tied for second with 48.0 blocks this year, on the defensive side of the ball. Sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) sits just behind with 173.5 points and 153 kills for the Dolphins while fellow sophomore opposite hitter Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa) is the third and final Dolphin to reach the century mark in both points (116.5) and kills (105) so far this season. 

Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) has put together a team-high 436 digs while adding 16 service aces as sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) follows with 176 assists and another 15 service aces. Sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) leads the team in service aces with 28 through 19 matches in 2025. 

Defensively, Menke also leads the Dolphins with 259 digs and 3.81 digs per set while freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) sits atop the standings with 60.0 blocks, just ahead of Lupton and senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) who have each tallied 48.0 blocks, as well.

A Look at the Chargers:
New Haven will host the 'Phins having played to a 3-20 overall record with a 2-10 record in NEC action this season, head coach Andre Fosters' first at the helm of the program. 

The Chargers opened the season by going 1-7 through invitational play from Sep. 3-23, taking down Columbia (3-1) while falling to New Hampshire, Fordham, Northeastern, Providence, Bryant, and New Mexico State twice during this period. Since then, the squad has gone 2-13 including non-conference losses at the hands of NJIT (1-3), Holy Cross (1-3), and Binghamton (0-3).

New Haven began their inaugural NEC schedule on Sept. 26 on the road against Stonehill with a 2-3 loss before taking down the Skyhawks, 3-2, the following day before falling in back-to-back matches, 0-3, against FDU on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4. Over the following two weeks, the Chargers dropped five straight against LIU (1-3), SFU (1-3, 0-3), and Mercyhurst (2-3, 1-3) before splitting a pair at Chicago State (3-1, 1-3) last weekend. Most recently, the squad fell to LIU (0-3) in a midweek clash on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 29. 

On offense, junior opposite hitter Lauren MacKellar leads with 271.0 points and 239 kills with another nine service aces for New Haven. Senior setter Juli De Acharan (340) and redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Johnston (302) lead the team in assists while also rounding out the offense with 27 and 23 service aces, respectively, as well. 

Defensively, sophomore libero/DS Payton Malinoski has put up a team-high 312 digs while graduate middle blocker Naliah Grannell sits atop the team's standings with 93.0 blocks this season. 

What's Next:
The Dolphins will host Mercyhurst University in their final home matches of the regular season next weekend, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7-8.