Volleyball: Early doubleheader for Huskies at Gampel
Big East matchups continue as the UConn volleyball team welcomes Providence on Wednesday and Butler on Friday as the Huskies look to extend their three-game win streak.
No game is guaranteed for this Connecticut squad, as every team will have some talent to pressure them. The Providence Friars had a recent 3-2 win over Georgetown. Sophomore Brielle Mullally and freshman Sammie Ruggles each had a double-double in the victory. Ruggles also finished this match with 29 assists and comes into Gampel with a chip on her shoulder, ready to dominate. Junior Mackenzie Taylor performed well in this match, finishing with 16 digs. Taylor is 11 digs away from being placed third on the Friar all-time career list with a career total of 1,588. She is an essential piece to this Friar offense. Providence is recently coming off a 3-1 Villanova loss on Saturday. Despite the loss, Mullally put up a double-double with 11 kills and 23 assists. Sophomore Kayla Grant gave it her all on the defensive side with four blocks and nine kills. Providence is currently 10-9 overall and 2-5 in the Big East.
The next matchup for the Huskies will be the Butler Bulldogs. UConn will face them this Friday. Butler had a 3-1 win over Seton Hall and is recently coming off a loss against St.John’s this past weekend. Against Seton Hall, the Junior libero Jaymesan Kinley put up 20+ digs for the 11th time this season. Reigning Big East Freshman of the Week, Cara Taylor had 36 assists in the victory. Taylor also had 10 digs in the win against the Pirates for her eighth double-double. The young player is someone to look out for against the Huskies.
In the 3-0 loss versus St. John’s on Sunday afternoon, Butler had their three-game winning streak snapped. Sophomore Amina Shackelford had a team of 10 kills in the loss for the Bulldogs while also having a career-high eight digs.
The Huskies are having a mediocre season, but their recent wins show some promise to turn things around with these upcoming matchups. Senior Jasmine Davis led UConn toward this win as she had 14 kills on a .565 hitting percentage. Connecticut held the Hoyas to a -0.11 hitting percentage in the sweep and had 44 kills compared to Georgetown’s 20. Seniors Madi Whitmire and Karly Berkland will hopefully continue to be the leaders this team needs to continue their success.
The games will be streamed on FloSports. The first matchup of the week will begin Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. against Providence, and the second will start on Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m. against Butler.
