University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Villanova
Huskies Suffer Rare Home Loss to Villanova
10/18/2025 10:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
STORRS, Conn. — UConn women's volleyball (15-5, 4-4 BIG EAST) was defeated by Villanova (15-4, 6-2 Big East) in a tense four-set match (22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26) at UConn Volleyball Center on Saturday night.
The opening set was tightly contested, with both teams exchanging points through a series of errors and well-executed plays. Emma Werkmeister was a consistent offensive force, tallying multiple kills to pace the UConn offense. Villanova capitalized on UConn's service errors and multiple terminations from Abby Harrell and Taylor Lewis to put the Wildcats ahead 22-20. Harrell and Campbell McKinnon stepped up down the stretch on the offensive end, lifting Villanova to a first set victory.
Hanna Tylska fired in two kills and Doga Kutlu poured in an ace to put UConn in front 7-4 in the opening moments of the second frame. Loren Winn and Audrey Rome combined for a block, and Brenna Wyman sounded the horns with an ace to push the Husky lead to 13-8. 'Nova battled back throughout the set, cutting the UConn advantage to 17-16, thanks to kills from Harrell and Cat Young. Tylska kept the Huskies in front at 23-22, but a block from Ava Mehrten and an ace from McKinnon fueled the 'Cats to a commanding 2-0 lead.
A smattering of errors on both sides kept the score level at 8-8 in the third set. Werkmeister and Eli Adams each contributed kills, pushing the hosts in front 14-12. Villanova rattled off four straight points to take a 16-14 lead, anchored by blocks from McKinnon and Mehrten. The Huskies capitalized on several 'Nova attack errors to take a 22-21 lead. Grace Maria made her presence felt on both ends, with a block and a kill to carry UConn to a third set win.
Maria and Adams carried the strong offensive momentum over into the fourth set to give UConn a 10-8 lead. However, Villanova responded in a big way, going on an extended 8-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. The Wildcats locked the Huskies down defensively with key blocks from Young and Reagan McGivern. The visitors maintained their six-point lead at 22-16, but UConn fought all the way back to level the score at 22-22, punctuated by a combined blocking effort from Adams and Ayva Cebollero. With their eyes on a fifth set, the Huskies grabbed the lead at 24-23, but could not complete the comeback, as Villanova took the fourth set, handing UConn its first home loss of the season.
Werkmeister led the team with 16 kills and contributed nine digs. Rome followed closely, recording 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .348. Kutlu orchestrated the offense with 40 assists. Adams was a defensive force, posting five total blocks in the match. Harrell led all players with 20 kills in Villanova's win.
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