The UConn Huskies ended their losing streak this weekend, as the program won both of their games against Georgetown and Seton Hall at home. This moves the team to a 2-2 conference record and maintains their undefeated status at home.
The Huskies returned to Storrs on Friday, Oct. 4 to take on the Georgetown Hoyas for the fifteenth time in the program’s history. UConn won the game 3-0, shutting out the Hoyas and ending Connecticut’s two-game losing streak.
UConn went into this matchup with hopes of getting their first conference win after a promising non-conference run. The team started the first set strong, taking a 6-4 lead early in the game. However, both teams made errors in the following minutes, and this allowed Georgetown to take the lead. Strong plays from junior Emma Werkmeister and freshman Loren Winn ended the Hoyas’ run and gave the Huskies a one point lead, 15-14. The Huskies went on a strong run, winning the next six out of nine points, giving them a 20-17 lead. However, a series of UConn mistakes and strong Georgetown plays allowed the Hoyas to tie the game at 21-all. The Huskies took the first set 25-22 after a kill by Werkmeister and three kills from graduate student Taylor Pannell.
The Hoyas went into the second set determined to tie the game. After some mistakes from the Huskies and strong plays from Georgetown, they opened a 6-5 lead. However, the Huskies were not willing to let their set lead go just yet and went on a strong run. Winn contributed to both the defensive and offensive end and got UConn to an 11-9 lead. The Hoyas attempted a comeback, taking a one-point lead several times throughout the second set, yet the Huskies were quick to respond and tied the game at 17-all. Georgetown continued their strong play and regained the lead at 20-18. The Huskies persevered with aces from Werkmeister. Connecticut once again tied the game 23-all. A final ace from freshman McKenna Brand gave the Huskies the second set 25-23.
The third set started with both teams making a good effort and tying the game at 4-all. Following this, the Huskies went on a solid run with several kills from Werkmeister, including her 200th kill this season. Junior Brenna Wyman’s ace extended the Huskies lead to 10-5. Georgetown came back thanks to a 3-0 run, however, that was not enough as a kill from redshirt sophomore Audrey Rome put the Huskies back up 16-10. From then on, it was all UConn; two kills from Werkmeister and Pannell sealed the deal and gave the Huskies their first conference win in a shutout.
The program took advantage of its positive momentum when they faced Seton Hall on Saturday, Sept. 5. As they went into their second game of the weekend, UConn wanted to stay undefeated. The Pirates were also looking to extend their conference win record, having just won their first conference game the night before.
UConn started the first set with momentum. They began with two aces from Rome and Wyman, followed by a kill by Werkmeister and another from Pannell. This gave the Huskies an early 6-2 lead. UConn didn’t let up. Kills from Rome and junior Hanna Tylska and an ace from senior Doga Kutlu extended the Huskies’ lead to 16-10. The Pirates attempted a comeback but to no avail as another ace from Kutlu and a kill from Tylska won the team the first set 25-19.
Both teams struggled with errors at the start of the second set, which kept the game still at 3-all. The Huskies then went on a 3-0 run, followed by errors from Seton Hall and strong plays from both Pannell and Werkmeister giving the Huskies an 11-5 lead. UConn continued to control the second set and an ace from Wyman put the team up 20-11. Continuous strong play from UConn and a strong block from Rome won the Huskies the second set 25-16.
The Pirates came into the third set hoping to turn the game around. They took an early lead at 7-4 after a solid offensive run and several errors from the Huskies. UConn came back to tie the game at nine-a-piece, but struggled to mount a proper comeback. A strong defense from Seton Hall extended UConn’s lead to 15-11. The Pirates continued their domination of the set and extended their lead further to 24-17. The Huskies attempted a comeback and went on a 4-0 run. However, a final kill from Seton Hall gave them the third set 25-21.
The fourth set started much like the second, with both teams exchanging points early on and tying at nine-all. Several errors from both teams, as well as kills from both sides allowed the game to once again tie at 15-all. Strong plays from Werkmeister, Rome and sophomore Grace Maria gave the Huskies a one-point lead at 21-20. Werkmeister and Pannell closed off the game with two kills, winning the Huskies the final set 25-23.
This win puts the Huskies 2-2 in conference play and maintained their undefeated status at home. The Huskies will look to continue this positive momentum as they face Providence at home later in the week.