The UConn volleyball team finished its non-conference run in dominant fashion this weekend, sweeping their competition with victories over Brown University, Marist University and Sacred Heart University.
The Huskies’ first opponent was Brown, who gave them a tough start to the match. The Bears began the first set with five unanswered points, seizing early momentum. Their lead grew as high as nine points, and just when it seemed like it was going to be a blowout, the Connecticut attack came alive. A kill by senior Emma Werkmeister jumpstarted the Huskies late in the set, as they exploded for a 14-6 run to even the score at 24. Werkmeister closed it out with a powerful ace, completing the comeback to take the first set.
The momentum had fully shifted to UConn’s side, and the Huskies took full advantage. After trading points to begin the second set, Connecticut began to take over after five straight points gave them an 11-5 lead. The rest was all UConn, as they continued to dominate from that point on, finishing the second set 25-10.
The third set once again began tightly contested, but two kills from junior Grace Maria and an ace from graduate student Doga Kutlu helped UConn jump out to a 10-8 lead. Werkmeister heated up down the stretch, notching three more kills to pace the UConn attack. Errors by Brown kept this set out of reach, with the Huskies going on to take the third set 25-19, capping off a dominant Friday night.
On Saturday afternoon, the Huskies geared up to face Marist, and once again they were tested to start the match. Werkmeister wasted no time contributing, delivering her 20th ace of the year early in set one. However, it seemed like neither side could pull away for much of the set, with back and forth runs up to 13-13. From there, UConn finally found its footing, rattling off eight of the next 11 with help from two aces by sophomore McKenna Brand. The Red Foxes didn’t go down easily though, clawing back for five of the next seven to make it 23-21. Ultimately, late errors by Marist ended their momentum and handed UConn the first set, 25-21.
The Huskies jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the second set, helped by an ace from Brand and two kills by redshirt sophomore Loren Winn. UConn’s blocking shut down any attempts at coming back from Marist. At 20-16, Winn roofed a powerful spike to erase the Red Foxes’ late momentum. She finished off the second set herself with another kill, Huskies winning it 25-17. “The energy was great, and Doga [Kutlu] was getting me some great balls, so I knew I had to do something and put it away,” Winn said in a postgame interview on the UConn+ broadcast.
The third set began just as competitive as the first two until the Huskies subbed in senior Hanna Tylska. She immediately came out swinging, notching three early kills to give UConn an 8-6 lead. That sparked the offense as they took eight of the next 12 points, bringing them up to a 16-10 lead. The Husky offense continued to put on the pressure, and Tylska exploded for four aces to end the set 25-15, and closing out another straight set victory for the Huskies.
UConn’s third and final match of the weekend pitted them against in-state rival Sacred Heart. The first set was marked by a challenging start on both ends, with both teams plagued by errors. The Huskies quickly settled in, capitalizing on the Pioneers’ miscues to jump out to a 13-8 lead. Connecticut saw offensive contributions from across the roster as they maintained control throughout the set. Sacred Heart was unable to overcome the deficit, as a long spike by Sacred Heart sailed out of bounds to end the set 25-18.
Junior Isabella Suhy gave the Huskies early momentum in the second set with an ace, and another ace from Werkmeister soon after gave UConn a 7-2 lead. However, the Pioneers found momentum of their own, as a 6-1 run propelled by three aces quickly erased the Huskies’ advantage. After keeping it tight for a while, a huge block by Kutlu and another pair of aces for Werkmeister fueled the Huskies’ offense to take six in a row, firing up the home crowd. The Pioneers’ late efforts were dashed by a service error to end the set, 25-19.
The third set opened with sharper play by the Huskies, as Kutlu set up Werkmeister for an early kill to set the tone. Sacred Heart held onto a tight lead until midway, when back-to-back kills from senior Audrey Rome lit up the offense, rattling off five of six to take a commanding lead. The Pioneers came back to tie it again at 18, but Winn crushed their hopes with a pair of kills for herself. The Huskies’ attack overwhelmed Sacred Heart from that point, cruising to a 25-20 set, and completing the clean sweep of the weekend.
The Huskies looked dominant this weekend, sweeping all three games in straight sets. They will head into conference play riding a wave of momentum after going 11-1 in non-conference play. Next up, they travel to Chicago to take on DePaul this Friday night. The match is set for 8 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.