University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
12-16, 6-10AAC
University of Central Florida
21-7, 14-2AAC
Huskies Fall to UCF in Season Finale
11/16/2019 2:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn volleyball team fell to UCF (21-7, 14-2) in four sets on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies finish the season with a 12-16 overall record and a 6-10 mark in American Conference play.
How It Happened
The Huskies and Knights battled in a tightly contested first set. UConn pulled ahead 8-5 early on in the set, but UCF would fight back to take a 14-11 lead, forcing a UConn timeout. The Knights would maintain their lead, forcing UConn into a late timeout, trailing 21-16. UCF went on to take the first set 25-19.
UConn jumped out to an early 41 lead in set two before the Knights regained the lead at 7-5. Trailing 11-7, the Huskies went on a 6-1 run to retake the lead at 13-12. They would extend their lead to 17-14, forcing UCF to call timeout. The Huskies held off a late rally to win the set 25-21 and tie the match 1-1.
UCF picked up an early lead in the third set. The Knights led 11-4, forcing UConn to call timeout. The Huskies could not make up the ground and lost the set 25-17. The fourth and final set saw UCF take another early lead at 7-3. UConn used its timeouts trailing 15-7 in hopes of regrouping. The Knights, however, kept their lead and took the final set 25-15, and the match 3-1.
"We came into today's match wanting to leave everything on the floor. I think this is a really special group," said Head Coach Ellen Herman-Kimball.
"Even though we didn't get exactly what we wanted on paper, we grew a lot as a team. Thinking about where we were at the beginning of the season to now, it's like night and day. I'm so proud of this group."
Davis Leading the Charge
Freshman Jasmine Davis led the Husky offense once again, recording her sixth double-double of the season with a team-high 15 kills and 19 digs. Sophomore Anna Petrova tallied 10 digs on the afternoon and added eight digs, and added three blocks. Fellow sophomore Kennadie Jake-Turner grabbed nine digs, hitting .250, and led the team with five total blocks. Freshman Madi Whitmire led the Huskies with 25 assists and added 13 digs. Fellow freshman Mia Ruffolo recorded 14 digs on the afternoon.
Senior Day for Spaziani
The Huskies celebrated senior day for R-Junior Avery Spaziani on Sunday afternoon. Spaziani served as a defensive specialist for the Huskies, recording 193 career digs, averaging 1.44 digs per set, and 50 career assists. She tallied a career-high 20 digs against Temple earlier this season on October 4th. She was presented with a framed jersey to remember her time with the Huskies.
"With this being Avery's last match, I'm so proud of her. From her freshman year to now, she has made great steps as a player. She's a phenomenal teammate and a phenomenal person and she did a lot for this program culturally, which was huge for us."
Up Next
There will be no postseason for the Huskies this year. UConn finishes the season winning three of its last four games. The Huskies will return to Gampel next fall for the 2020 campaign, rejoining the Big East Conference.
