University of Connecticut women’s volleyball (10-17, 3-11 Big East) hit the road this weekend to take on Seton Hall and St. John’s University. The Huskies were coming off a promising weekend sweep, looking to build momentum as the end of the season draws near.
The weekend began on Friday night against Seton Hall, where the Huskies seized momentum early, benefiting from contributions across the court to build a 7-3 lead. The Pirates fought back to tie it back up at 8, but after trading back and forth, the Huskies capitalized on opponent miscues to go on a 14-4 tear, capped off by kills from Isabella Sohl and Sydney Borowy. The Huskies took set one in dominant fashion, 25-15.
Set two began similarly, as the Huskies racked up five straight to start, in large part due to three consecutive aces by Olivia Pasternak. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Seton Hall went on a run to tie it up, and flip the lead to 8-6. Unable to find a break point, UConn found themselves down 20-17 looking for a spark. That came from an ace by Hazuna Akishige, leading the charge to level the set at 20. The Pirates found match point first, and after a kill from Sohl the Pirates closed it out 25-22.
A massive block from Hailey Maes put UConn up 4-3 early on, and the Huskies didn’t look back from there. A 7-2 run gave the Huskies a commanding 20-12 advantage, led by aces from Helena Einarsdottir and Abigail Buckner. UConn’s blocks stifled any hopes of a Seton Hall comeback, as a kill from Borowy powered the Huskies to a 25-15 set three victory.
The Pirates proved they weren’t done in the fourth set, forcing a gridlock as the score was tied at 15, neither able to put together a run early on. Seton Hall took control after taking four in a row to push the lead to 21-16. UConn continued to struggle to get a much-needed break, as the Pirates held strong defensively to take the set 25-20, forcing a decisive fifth set.
The Huskies suddenly had their backs against the wall when the Pirates strung together a 4-1 run to open the set. Another ace from Buckner cut that lead to one, but a few costly mistakes allowed Seton Hall to rebuild the lead, which they wouldn’t give up again. After UConn took three in a row, another four straight for the hosts made the score 13-8. The Pirates took advantage of their second match point, sealing the final set 15-10 and winning the match.
UConn traveled to Queens, NY to finish off the weekend with a Saturday night matchup with St. John’s. Maja Daca recorded an early ace to complete a 4-1 run to open the scoring, but after equalizing at 9, the Red Storm rattled off six straight to jump out to a 15-9 lead. The Huskies began to chip away after a kill from Jordyn Hughes and an ace by Grace Maria. However, the deficit proved too much to handle, and St. John’s closed out the set 25-17.
In the second set, after a 7-7 stalemate, it was the Huskies’ turn to make a run, with four straight points after two aces by Sohl. UConn kept the lead safe from that point, slowly growing their advantage before reaching set point, in which a pair of late kills by Courtney Grayson sealed the second set for the Huskies, 25-20.
After a back and forth start, St. John’s set the tone after climbing to a 11-7 lead in the third set. After Maes and Grayson combined for a block, UConn forced a pair of mistakes to climb back to a 14-14 tie. Grayson recorded two aces to help the Huskies claim the lead, but a Red Storm response set up a tight finish at 21-20. The Huskies reached match point first, but St. John’s kept the set going after forcing deuce. However, after getting a second chance, Akishige put the set away by floating in an ace to win 26-24.
St. John’s began the fourth set with a 7-1 run to put the Huskies in an early hole. The Red Storm maintained that lead before an Einarsdottir ace helped mount a 6-1 Huskies’ response to take an 18-17 lead. After another set that went down to the wire, UConn reached match point first but once again were met with a deuce. Both sides traded chances to finish off the set, but both defenses held strong to prolong the set. Eventually, a St. John’s block ended a long fourth set to secure a 28-26 St. John’s win.
After another back and forth beginning, St. John’s held on to an 8-5 advantage in the fifth set. The Huskies struggled to string points together before four in a row by the Red Storm gave the hosts match point. UConn fought back with a kill and ace by Daca, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit, St. John’s sealing the set 15-10 and the match along with it.
It was a tough weekend for UConn, unable to finish both games after taking a 2-1 set lead as they dropped to No. 10 in the Big East Standings. Grayson led the offense this weekend with 45 points, ten blocks and two aces. Sohl continued to be effective with 98 total assists over the weekend, while Akishige anchored the defense with 34 digs and adding on two service aces.
The Huskies finish off their regular season schedule with a home series against Xavier and Butler next week at the UConn Volleyball Center.