Volleyball: UConn and Seton Hall faceoff to begin Big East play

The Big East slate is upon us. Early-season tournament play is over, and the UConn Huskies will begin their conference quest to conquer the Big East. They will start against a talented Seton Hall team on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in South Orange, New Jersey.  

The Huskies are coming off an undefeated weekend at the Dog Pound Challenge with high hopes of keeping up with the Seton Hall Pirates, who are currently second in the Big East. UConn has proved they can compete with good teams, as they’re just coming off a win against a solid Bryant squad. Caylee Parker will look to continue her hot streak, coming off her Big East Weekly Honor Roll appearance, representing the Huskies. The senior recorded a league-high 4.62 points per week in the 3-0 weekend for UConn. Parker’s 3.72 kills per set listed second in the conference last weekend.  

This Husky team will rely on their other talent, primarily through players Allie Garland, Madi Whitmire and Jasmine Davis. Garland recently put up four kills and one block in the Huskies’ recent victory against Brown. Whitmire had multiple solo blocks in the win against Bryant, and hopefully, she can handle the pressure this Seton Hall offense will apply on her. Davis also had a monster performance against Bryant, putting up 18 kills. Fans hope the dynamic duo of Davis and Parker will continue through the season with the start of Big East play.  

The Seton Hall Pirates are going into this matchup with serious firepower. The Pirates are fortunate to have freshman star Asli Subasili from Tekirdağ, Turkey, who was recently named Big East women’s volleyball Freshman of the Week. Subasili had a great weekend at the Seton Hall Classic, posting 1.70 blocks per set. Against Central Connecticut State, she had five blocks, three kills and two serving aces. When the Pirates played Dartmouth, Subasili had seven blocks, four service aces, and a kill. The freshman phenom is tied for the Big East lead with 1.21 blocks per set and ranks fifth in the conference with 0.42 aces per set.  

Jenna Walsh is another strong player for the Pirates, leading her team with 139 kills. Maddie Klungel is also vital to Seton Hall, leading the team with 231 assists.  

The Seton Hall Pirates are 9-3 overall and are in second place in the Big East, as the Huskies sit in seventh place and are 6-5 overall. The key for UConn to succeed in this game will be to get an early aggressive start on the offensive side. They showed this game plan in their recent contests–and the success speaks for itself. 

This game can be streamed on FloSports at 6 p.m.