The UConn volleyball team celebrates a point (Amar Batra/The Daily Campus)
The UConn volleyball team (7-5) defeated UMKC and Grand Canyon to take two out of three matches at the Bradley Invitational this past weekend.
On Friday afternoon, the Huskies faced UMKC (4-9) and defeated them in straight sets. Redshirt-sophomore Kayla Williams finished the match with a double-double (15 kills, 10 digs).
In the first set, the Huskies held the Kangaroos to a .033 hitting percentage and led the entirety of the set. UConn won the set 25-19.
The second set proved to be more difficult as the Huskies edged past UMKC in a 26-24 win. There were four lead changes in the set and seven ties. Junior setter Emma Turner had an impressive 10 assists, three kills, three digs, and one ace in the set for the Huskies.
The third and final set was also a back and forth affair with UConn eventually coming out on top in a 25-21 win to take the sweep.
Later on Friday, the Huskies took on host Bradley (7-7), losing in straight sets.
In the first set, the Huskies kept it close, losing 25-23, but were never able to take the lead.
The second set saw a lot of action as the Huskies came back from a six-point deficit and even took a 24-22 lead towards the end. However, the Braves pushed back with two kills to tie it up before winning the set 28-26.
In the final set, the Huskies were able to tie it up multiple times but were never able to take the lead. UConn lost the set 25-19 behind four kills from freshman Ally Barrett.
The next day UConn took on Grand Canyon University (5-7), defeating them in straight sets.
In the first set, the Huskies trailed 6-3 but were able to tie it up 11-11. After taking the lead 12-11 the Huskies maintained it for the rest of the set, outscoring the Lopes 13-2 on their way to a 25-13 victory.
For the second set, the Huskies and GCU had a number of ties before the Lopes took a 14-11 lead. After tying it up again at 19-19, UConn took off on a 6-1 run to take the set 25-20.
For the final set, the Huskies found themselves once again trailing, but never by more than three points. UConn was able to tie it up at 19-19 and then pushed their way to a 25-22 victory to take the match.
After the tournament, UConn’s Turner and Kennedy Arundel were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Huskies start conference play this week, taking on Memphis on Sept. 22 in Guyer Gym.
Mariana Dominguez is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.