Volleyball: Huskies look to extend win streak in pair of Big East battles
The UConn Huskies are on a steady win streak and will look to continue it against Big East teams Xavier and No. 13 Creighton on the road. Senior Caylee Parker leads the Huskies with 259 kills and four points per set. Fellow senior Jasmine Davis is close behind Parker with 255 and four points per set. UConn is 13-10 overall and 7-5 in Big East matchups heading into this weekend.
Xavier is coming off two straight wins against St. John’s and Seton Hall this past Friday and Saturday. The Musketeers swept Seton Hall 3-0 to improve to 13-4 all-time against the Pirates. Xavier has won four consecutive road games since 2014 as the team moves to third place in the Big East standings.
Senior outside hitter Brooklyn Cink led the Musketeers with 10 kills in the match. The graduate middle blocker had a team-high hitting percentage of 562 with nine kills and no errors. Carrigan O’Reilly had 35 assists in the victory, putting her at a career total of 2,976. The senior also had four kills and seven digs.
Cink was named to the Big East Honor Roll for the second time this season and the second time in her career. The outside hitter also had her sixth double-double the season against St. John’s with 22 kills and 17 digs.
O’Reilly was also named to the Big East Honor Roll for the fourth time this season and the 12th time in her career for performance in Xavier’s two recent wins. The senior setter had 81 assists, 10 kills, 18 digs and five total blocks in the two matches. O’Reilly had her 28th career double in the win against St. John’s, with 46 assists and 11 digs.
Creighton is looking to blow past UConn, as the Bluejays are undefeated in the Big East at 12-0 and 20-3 overall, earning them a top-15 ranking nationally. A notable player on this Creighton squad is Norah Sis, who was recently named Big East Offensive Player of the Week for the third time. The sophomore helped her team get a pair of sweeps last weekend and looks to sweep the Huskies.
Sis had led all Big East players in points per set (6.00) and kills per set (5.30). She is averaging 2.00 digs and 0.50 blocks per set while hitting .242. During Creighton’s win against St. Johns, Sis had 20 kills, four digs, and two blocks in only three sets. This was her 11th career match with 20 or more kills. Creighton will face Providence Friday at 1 p.m.
UConn will face Xavier Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. and Creighton on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m.
