The UConn women’s volleyball squad took on Villanova and St. John’s this weekend and extended their winning streak to six games while maintaining a 12-0 record at home. The Huskies are off to one of the best seasons the program has ever seen.
On Friday, Oct. 18 UConn took on Villanova in Storrs at their annual Breast Cancer Awareness game. The team collected their fifth conference win and 10th win against Villanova.
The Huskies came into the first set with force. Two early kills from junior Hanna Tylska and an ace from senior Doga Kutlu helped put the Huskies up 6-1. Two kills from freshman Loren Winn, followed by more kills from Kutlu and graduate student Taylor Pannell led the Huskies to a 10-3 advantage. UConn continued to own the spotlight and extended their lead with kills from Pannell and sophomore Grace Maria. Several Villanova errors also gave the Huskies a 20-8 lead. The Wildcats attempted a comeback and after a series of UConn errors and strong attacks from Villanova, they were able to close the gap 22-14. However, the Huskies continued their strong performance and final kills from Pannell and Tylska gave the Huskies the first set 25-16.
The Wildcats took the early 8-4 lead of the second set as UConn struggled with a series of errors. The Huskies responded and took advantage of errors from Villanova’s side. A kill from Pannell closed the gap 8-7. UConn then went on a four-point run to gain more momentum. The gain was followed by a continuous exchange of points with both teams putting up strong plays that tied the match once again at 18 points. Both sides were relentless and the next eight points were evenly split, bringing the set to yet another standstill at 22-all. Despite the strong fight from the Huskies, it was the Wildcats who came out on top, pulling two kills and an ace to win the set 25-22, tying the contest.
Villanova kept the momentum going into the third set, pulling out an early 6-3 lead after several errors plagued the Huskies. The Wildcats then went on a 3-0 run, extending their lead to 11-5. With a kill from Pannell and an error from the visiting team, the Huskies closed the gap 11-7. This prompted Villanova to go on another 3-0 run, putting them at 14-7. The Huskies responded with kills from Tylska, and freshman Anna Herman brought the Huskies up 14-10. The Huskies continued the momentum with several strong plays that brought the game to a standstill at 20-all. From there, UConn took charge of the set with kills from Tyslka and Herman to keep the Huskies ahead. A final kill from Pannell gave the Huskies the lead and 27-25 victory in the third set.
The fourth set began with both teams nailing points back and forth and tying the set at 6-all. The Wildcats were the first to respond, putting up a three-point lead over the Huskies. However, UConn wasn’t going down quietly. The Huskies put up their own 3-0 run after several errors from Villanova to tie the game once again at 9-9. The Huskies continued to put up a strong performance, with three consecutive kills from Tylska giving the team a small 12-10 lead. Villanova attempted a comeback with strong offensive plays tying the set at 17-all. However, their efforts proved not enough as the Huskies took control of the set. Going on a 4-0 run at the final moments of the set, UConn finished 25-20 and sealed the Huskies’ fifth consecutive conference win.
Next up, UConn took on the St. John’s Red Storm. The Huskies came into the match with hopes of winning their sixth consecutive conference game.
Coming into the first set, St. John’s took the 5-0 early lead. The Red Storm continued to control the score with several strong offensive attacks giving them a 10-3 lead. With kills from Pannell, the Huskies began to mount a comeback and cut the Red Storm’s lead 14-9. The Huskies continued their comeback attempt with more kills from Winn, Maria and Pannell, putting the score at 19-13. In the end, two kills from the Red Storm guaranteed them the first set 25-20.
The Huskies came into the second set focused on turning the match around. After the teams exchanged points back and forth, the match came to a standstill at 5-all. The Huskies then went on a 4-0 run with kills from Maria and Winn to give them a four-point lead. UConn continued to build on their lead as St. John’s attempt a comeback. An ace from junior Brenna Wyman, as well as kills from Pannell, brought the Huskies up 13-7. St. John’s responded, putting up their second 3-0 run of the set to close in on the Huskies 16-12. UConn came back with an ace from freshman Mckenna Brand coupled with strong defensive plays to bring the score 21-16. St. John’s once again fought back with yet another 3-0 run, closing the gap to 21-18. In the end, however, it was UConn who took the set 25-21, tying the game at 1-1.
The third set started with constant errors from both teams, bringing the game to a standstill at 5-all. However, St. John’s found their footing, gaining a 12-9 lead. The Huskies responded by going on a 5-0 run with three consecutive kills from Tylska. The Huskies pulled ahead by one point in the final moments of the set. An ace from Kutlu and another kill by Tylska got the Huskies the third set by 25-22.
The Huskies kept their momentum going and scored two kills early in the fourth set. However, St. John’s proved themselves a relentless opponent, taking back the lead 5-3. From there, the Red Storm completely controlled the game and extended their lead to 17-9. Though the Huskies tried to fight back, their efforts were utile, and ultimately, the visiting team took the fourth set 25-18, tying the game at two sets each.
Both teams came into the final set laser focused, with neither willing to relent the win. Both teams put up strong plays and pushed each other to the limit. However, it was the Huskies who took the lead after strong plays from both Maria and Pannell, putting the score at 10-8. The Huskies took the momentum and controlled the entire second half of the set, and in the end, they took the fifth set 15-12.
This marked UConn’s sixth consecutive conference win and kept their undefeated at home status alive.