Following a tough road trip against Seton Hall and St. John’s, UConn looks to rebound against more Big East opponents. This upcoming weekend, the Huskies will face Marquette on Friday at 8 p.m. and DePaul on Saturday at 7 p.m.
UConn and Marquette have faced each other a total of nine times and the Huskies are 3-6 in those matchups, having lost the last six in a row. Despite the losing streak, the Huskies hope to get their first Big East win against the No. 19 Golden Eagles. Marquette has started the season hot, and their current 11-1 record is a program record in NCAA Division I action. A notable player for the Golden Eagles is Yadhira Anchante from Lima, Peru. The sophomore setter was recently named Big East Offensive Player of the Week. She led the team in their sweep against DePaul with 35 assists, nine digs and a service ace. Against Butler, Anchante recorded her first career triple-double in NCAA play with 10 kills, 46 assists and 13 digs. She is definitely someone that the Huskies should beware of when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this weekend.
The second opponent that the Huskies will face this weekend is DePaul. In the nine total matches that UConn has played against the Blue Demons, they are undefeated. So far DePaul is 4-10 overall and are on a three-game losing streak. On Sept. 12, DePaul’s Taylor Underwood was selected as Big East Freshman of the Week. She has been a valuable player for the Blue Demons, as she recorded double-digit kills in all of the three matches the team played in two weeks ago against Virginia Tech, Eastern Michigan and St. Louis.
The Huskies will rely on seniors Caylee Parker, Jasmine Davis and Kennadie Jake-Turner to lead their team to an efficient weekend. Facing a team who has been dominating their opponents all season like Marquette is going to be a challenge for the Huskies but they hope to come out on top. This matchup is a huge test for UConn to beat one of their division rivals and gain a statement win. UConn has been playing competitive matches and they have not fallen without a fight. Last weekend, both losses to Seton Hall and St. John’s were five-set games that were heavily back and forth.
Looking ahead, defeating Marquette and DePaul would put UConn on the right path in their division after their rough opening to Big East competition.
After this weekend, the Huskies will finally return home to Storrs for the first time since their three-game sweep of the Dog Pound Challenge.
