University of Connecticut Athletics
Connecticut Downs Rutgers on Senior Day
11/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
STORRS, CT (Nov. 10) - The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball behind the play of all four seniors defeated Rutgers, 3-1 on senior day, Sunday, at Harry A Gampel Pavilion. The win moves UConn back to .500 on the season at 13-13 overall and 8-3 in the BIG EAST, while Rutgers falls to 16-10 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
Game one was a battle as both teams exchanged points throughout the match to a 22-22 tie. UConn then had two small pushes to take game one 30-26. The Huskies were led in game one by senior Christine Lambert (Lancaster, CA) with five kills on a .714 hitting percentage and senior Stephanie Ziemann (Linden, CA) with nine digs.
In game two Connecticut and Rutgers continued to battle early in the match, but UConn made a small push to take a 26-20 lead. The Scarlet Kinghts would not go away though as they fought all the way back to tie it at 29-29. The Huskies came back though and won game two 33-31, behind the final two kills of senior Melissa Wooley (Ridgecrest, CA). Wooley led UConn in game two with four kills and nine digs, while Ziemann continued her strong defensive play with nine digs as well.
Game three followed suit with both teams exchanging points all the way to a 27-27 tie. Rutgers then took the final three points for the 30-27 game three victory. Connecticut was led by Wooley with four kills.
In game four the Huskies and Scarlet Knights battled to a 24-24 tie. UConn took over from there, winning six of the next eight points for a 30-26 game four victory. Senior Sarah Walton (North Fork, CA) dominated game four with seven kills on a .583 hitting percentage. The Huskies as a team hit .316 in game four, while Ziemann and sophomore Jamie Hadenfeldt (Benicia, CA) added nine digs apiece.
The Huskies were led by seniors Lambert, Wooley, Walton and Ziemann playing their final home match at Connecticut. Lambert recorded 13 kills, seven blocks and five digs, while Wooley had a kill-dig double-double of 18 kills and 15 digs. Walton had 12 kills with a .303 hitting percentage along with 13 digs and Ziemann added a career high 34 digs. Hadenfeldt , junior Julie Erbez (Stockton, CA) and freshman Megan Crawley (Georgetown, TX) also played well. Hadenfeldt had a dig-kill double-double of 12 kills and 21 digs, while Crawley had a career high 10 kills. Erbez set the game with 58 assists.
Rutgers was led by Shayla Bush with match highs of 22 kills and 36 digs, while Pualani Tuyay set the game with 50 assists and seven kills.
Connecticut returns to action on Fri., Nov. 15 at 7:30 pm when they travel to Boston College.
