The UConn women’s volleyball team will return home to Storrs after playing two straight weekends on the road. The matches will take place starting Saturday Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. against DePaul and Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. against Marquette.
This pair of home games will be the last of the season. Before they dropped their last match to No. 13 Creighton, Connecticut was on an eight-game winning streak. The Huskies have a pattern of performing well at Gampel Pavilion, they started that run with five consecutive wins at home.
Senior Caylee Parker has continued to climb the charts for UConn. She’s been an offensive weapon for the Huskies and is now ranked second in all time kills for the program. She has 277 on this season, leading the team. Despite the loss to Creighton, the Huskies’ offense showed: Parker with 23 kills, 24 digs, senior Allie Garland with 25 kills, 4 blocks and freshman Emma Werkmeister with 17 kills, 4 blocks. UConn looks to keep the hot offense going with only four games left in the regular season.
They will kick off the weekend against DePaul. The Blue Demons come into this match with a 9-17 record. At the beginning of October, DePaul defeated UConn 3-1 at home in Chicago, Illinois. More recently, they went 2-0 on the weekend, beating Villanova and Georgetown. Since then, two Blue Demons got conference recognition with Jill Pressly and Bailey Nelson earning Big East Honors. Against Villanova, Pressly had 19 kills and Nelson had 14 kills, leading the team’s attack. The Huskies will definitely have to watch out for this duo in their upcoming matchup.
Connecticut will have a quick turnaround to play No. 17 Marquette just the day after. The Eagles enter this match with a 22-2 record. Their two losses came from No. 3 Wisconsin and Big East foe, No. 13 Creighton. This will be a huge match for the Huskies as Marquette is ranked in the top 25. In September, the Huskies lost to the Eagles 3-0 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marquette’s Aubrey Hamilton made this week’s Big East Honor Roll, her second time earning the honor this season. In the team’s last two matches against Villanova, she hit .405 and averaged 4.20 kills, 1.80 digs and 0.60 blocks per set. She also leads the team with 275 kills on the season.
Facing Hamilton and the rest of the Eagles will be a challenge for the Huskies as they have dominated all season and high expectations for the upcoming playoffs.
This is not going to be an easy weekend for the Huskies but it will be the last time they play in Storrs this season, unless they earn a playoff berth. In the most recent stretches, the Huskies have been successful and hope to get back on a win streak with some home-cooking. To tune in, both of UConn’s games against DePaul and Marquette can be streamed on Flo Sports.
