University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
University of Rhode Island
Huskies begin 2019 season with exhibition
8/23/2019 11:00:00โฏAM | Women's Volleyball
Hosting the Rams of URI
STORRS, Conn.โThe UConn volleyball team will begin the 2019 season by hosting the University of Rhode Island in an exhibition on Saturday, August 24th at 1:00 p.m. in Gampel Pavilion. The exhibition is free and open to the public. There will be a Fan Fest area outside of the East entrance, with photo-ops and more activities!
2019 SEASON PREVIEW
Newcomers
The Huskies welcomed six newcomers to the 2019 squad including a veteran transfer. The 2019 recruiting class received 'high honorable mention' recognition from Prep Volleyball. Madi Whitmire (Prosper, Texas), Mia Ruffolo (South Barrington, Ill.), Allie Garland (League City, Texas), Jasmine Davis (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Aset Baker-Falealili (Compton, Calif.), and transfer Meredith Pellegrino (Rider University/Norwalk, Conn.) will look to make an imยญmediate impact on this relatively young team.
Youth
The Huskies enter the 2019 campaign without a senior on the roster, for a total of 16 stuยญdent-athletes. However, they do have battle tested upperclassmen who played in a number of matches last year like 2019 American Athletic Conference preseason All-Conference selection Caylee Parker. The roster breakdown includes five juniors, five sophomores, and six freshmen. Depth and versatility will be a mainstay for UConn with at least two student-athletes for each position - setter (two), libero/defensive specialist (four), middle blocker (four), outside hitter (six), and rightside hitter (two).
Tough Road Ahead
UConn's 2019 schedule holds four teams that competed at the 2018 NCAA Division I Womยญen's Volleyball Championship in Navy, Iona, as well as conference foes UCF and Cincinnati. The Huskies will also take on six team's whose 2018 RPI ranked in the top-100.
The American Athletic Conference has announced the inception of a volleyball conference tournament. The top-6 programs will head down to Orlando, Fla. to compete on November 22-24. In the 2019 preseason poll, UConn was selected 11th.
Coaching Staff Reboot
Longtime assistant and asset to the program, Ellen Herman-Kimball has transitioned to Head Coach of the program as announced on February 28th. Matt Scott has taken a new title on as Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator. Herman-Kimball added Abby Gilleland to complete the coaching staff. Gilleland was a student-athlete at Ohio, like Herman-Kimball.
"I think all of us are eager to compete against URI,ย to see someone else on the other side of the net. This will also gives us a chance to put everything together and also shed some light on the areas we need growth and development.ย We are excited to get the season started and continue the path to get better every day!"
A LOOK AHEAD
Following this weekend's match, UConn will officially get the 2019 campaign underway next Friday and Saturday at the Pentagon Invite. Friday, August 30th the Huskies will see the court twice as they face the Bulldogs of Gonzaga at 12:30 p.m. and the Falcons of Air Force at 4:30 p.m. The tournament will come to a close with a single match on Saturday versus Navy at 10 a.m.
