University of Connecticut Athletics
Women's Volleyball Takes 3-0 Win Over Wright State
9/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ALBANY, N.Y. (September 5, 2008) - Kate Seabaugh (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded 13 kills as the the University of Connecticut women's volleyball team defeated Wright State 3-1 (29-27, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18) in its first match of the UAlbany Volleyball Classic on Friday evening in the University Gymnasium.
Annie Luhrsen (Wheatonville, Ill.) was just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 45 assists. She added five digs and four block assists while posting a .368 hitting percentage. With the win, the Huskies improve to 4-0 on the season.
Both teams came out strong, playing the first set to a 29-27 finish. Wright State held an edge over the Huskies throughout the set before the Huskies tied it at 22 then took a 23-22 lead with back-to-back kills by sophomore Rebecca Murray (Carmel, Ind.).
Wright State was able to tie the set back at 23 with a kill by Jessica Woods from a quick set by setter, Tina Paunicka. Play went back and forth until UConn took a 28-27 lead as a ball handling error was called on Paunicka. The Huskies took a 1-0 set advantage as Murray and classmate, Lauren Lamberti (Cary, Ill.) recorded a block for the set's final point. Lamberti finished the match with nine kills in 13 attempts, good for a team-high .692 hitting percentage.
The Raiders took the second set as they ran out to a 20-16 lead, the largest lead of the set until Seabaugh recorded a kill to keep the Huskies' hopes alive. But after a service error by the Huskies to give the Raiders a 23-21 lead, Woods connected on two consecutive service aces to lead Wright State to a 25-21 set victory.
The Huskies took the next two sets 25-17 and 25-18 led by Seabaugh and Luhrsen who took control over the offensive play for the UConn program. Senior Megan Frey (Chaska, Minn.) picked up one of her five kills in the third set, as she swung and found an open space in the Raider's defense to end the set and put the Huskies up 2-1.
Junior libero Jessica Isaac (Erlanger, Ky.) finished the night with 13 digs while Margot Demere (Encinitas, Calif.) had 10. With the loss, the Raiders drop to 0-4 on the year.
The Huskies will play Buffalo on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. before taking on host, Albany in a 7:00 p.m. tournament finale.
