University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Tulsa
The Huskies return to Gampel to close 2018 season
11/13/2018 3:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Final three matches in Storrs
STORRS, Conn.—The UConn women's volleyball team will close out the 2018 regular season over the course of their final three matches against Tulsa, Wichita State, and Temple. The Huskies' senior night will be on Friday, Nov. 16th with "Elsa Nocton Day" taking place on Sunday, Nov. 18th.
Friday, Nov. 16th
UConn (13-15, 5-10 AAC) will begin the closeout against Tulsa (18-9, 10-5 AAC as of Nov. 12th) at 7:00 p.m. The Golden Hurricane are led by Head Coach Ryan Wills, in his fifth year at the helm. He is assisted by Brittnee Cooper and Ben Farmer. Tulsa has five freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors, and two seniors on the 2018 roster. The Golden Hurricane recently hosted the American Athletic Conference's heavy hitters in Cincinnati, SMU, and Houston going 1-2 against them. Tulsa is currently No. 4 in the AAC just behind UCF, Cincinnati, and Tulane.
UConn will honor their six seniors; student manager Nikki Rusch, libero/defensive specialist Kline, outside hitter Danielle Cabel, setter Turner, outside hitter McGary, and defensive specialist Kennedy Arundel.
Sunday, Nov. 18th
The Huskies will have a day's break before returning to Gampel Pavilion, this time to take on The Shockers of Wichita State (12-14, 7-8 AAC as of Nov. 12th) at 11:00 a.m. In his 19th season, Head Coach Chris Lamb is assisted by Associate Head Coach Sean Carter and Assistant Coach Austin Hosto. The Shockers are down a pair of matches over the weekend to Houston and SMU.
Wichita State officially joined the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2017 and proceeded to win the 2017 AAC Women's Volleyball Championships. Heading into the 2018 season The Shockers led in the preseason conference poll while nabbing two student-athletes on the preseason team. This Wichita State roster is a relatively young one; nine freshmen, seven sophomores, four juniors, and two seniors. Wichita State has fallen to No. 7 in the AAC just one spot ahead of UConn.
The Huskies will host Mansfield Middle School and their chorus who will be singing the National Anthem alongside Team IMPACT teammate Elsa Nocton. This match day will also double as "Elsa Day", where Elsa and her community will be acknowledged throughout the match.
Wednesday, Nov. 21st
In the final match of the 2018 campaign, UConn will host Temple (6-21, 3-12 as Nov. 12th) in a 1:00 p.m. showdown. If you recall the season's initial matchup of these two teams, UConn traveled to Philadelphia and stunned Temple by taking the match 3-1 for their first series win since the 2015 season against the Owls. Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam, in his seventh season, is aided by Assistant Head Coach Akiko Hatakeyama and Assistant Coach Ren Cefra.
The 2018 team for Temple returned nine letterwinners including two starters in addition to a libero, however they did lose four other starters. The Owls are in the rebuilding stage with the welcoming of five newcomers. The four top returners for Temple are; Irem Asci—senior outside hitter, Iva Deak—senior middle blocker, Dana Westfield—sophomore outside hitter, and Mia Heirakuji—senior libero/defensive specialist. The Owls find themselves a position ahead of Houston at No. 11 in the AAC.
This past week in Husky volleyball…
UConn completed their final road trip of 2018 against Memphis and Tulane, splitting the weekend series 1-1. In the match in Memphis, Tenn. the Huskies nabbed a redemptive 3-2 victory over the Tigers. Sunday's match in New Orleans, La. also went into five sets as the Huskies tried to ride the Green Wave to victory, losing 3-2. Freshman Caylee Parker was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Nov. 12th and has 11 double-doubles on the season.
Live stats and stream links can be found on the volleyball schedule page, here.
Click here for the AAC's Weekly Conference Release.
