University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
18-9,7-8Big East
Villanova
19-7,10-5Big East
Huskies Fall to Villanova in Five Sets
11/14/2025 8:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
VILLANOVA, Pa.- UConn women's volleyball fell in five sets (25-23, 25-14, 17-25, 25-27, 10-15) to the Villanova Wildcats on Friday night at the Jake Nevin Field House.
The Huskies grabbed a 5-3 lead in the first set, with Eli Adams and Loren Winn combining for an early block. Kills from Hanna Tylska and Eli Adams kept UConn in front with a slim 10-9 lead. Villanova's Reagan McGivern added a block and a kill to tie the score at 13-13, but a kill from Winn and an ace from Adams gave the visitors a 15-13 lead at the first media timeout. The Wildcats responded with a 4-0 run to go in front 17-16, thanks to kills from Campbell McKinnon and Cat Young. After Audrey Rome tied the score at 19-19, 'Nova rattled off three straight points to snag a 22-19 lead. Emma Werkmeister brought the Huskies level at 22-22, with three consecutive kills to push the hosts into a timeout. Werkmeister and Tylska fired in a kill apiece to lift the Huskies to a 25-23 first set victory.
UConn dominated the opening moments of the second set, with Tylska adding two kills and Isabella Suhy firing in an ace to put the Huskies in front 7-2. The Huskies stretched their to double digits, with kills from Tylska and Winn catapulting UConn to a 17-7 advantage. After Villanova cut the lead to 17-10, Audrey Rome fired in two kills and combined with Doga Kutlu on a block to reestablish the visitors' lead to 21-10. Werkmeister and Adams fueled the Husky attack to a 25-14 second-set victory.
The Wildcats leapt out to a 6-2 lead in the third frame, ignited by kills from Young and Taylor Lewis. UConn cut the lead to two after a rejection from Rome. McGivern and Young stretched the 'Nova edge to 15-11. The Wildcats capitalized on multiple UConn miscues, putting themselves in the driver's seat with a 23-16 lead. Two kills from Abby Harrell lifted 'Nova down the stretch, taking the set 25-17.
Villanova carried the momentum into the fourth, going in front 4-0 after blocks from McGivern and Harrell. McGivern continued to anchor the 'Nova defense with two more rejections to pad the Wildcat lead to 11-3. UConn chipped away at the deficit, with Adams and Winn combining for a block to bring the Huskies at 16-9. Two aces from Werkmeister and kills from Adams and Winn ignited an 8-0 UConn run, closing the gap to 16-14. The relentless Huskies clawed all the way back to even the score at 19-19. The visitors rode the momentum to leap in front 23-20. However, Villanova fought back, going in front 24-23 after an ace from Marly Smith. The Wildcats staved off the UConn comeback to take a wild fourth set, 27-25.
Lewis and McGivern powered 'Nova to an early 7-2 lead in the decisive fifth set. UConn closed the gap to 7-5 after another Werkmeister ace. McKinnon poured in an ace and Harrell chipped in a kill to pad the lead back to 11-7. Ava Mehrten closed the door on the set and match for the Wildcats, as Villanova completed the reverse sweep to punch its ticket to the BIG EAST Tournament.
Werkmeister led the Huskies with 15 kills, adding eight digs. Kutlu recorded 47 assists and 10 digs. McKenna Brand anchored the Huskies with 17 digs. Harrell led all players with 20 kills in the win for Villanova. Kutlu's 15th assist of the night was the 3000th assist of her UConn career, becoming only the sixth Husky in program history to accomplish this feat.
The Huskies close out the regular season tomorrow night against Georgetown at 7:00 pm in D.C.
