STORRS, Conn. UConn volleyball will begin BIG EAST conference play this weekend against the historically two best teams in the conference. The Huskies will head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face off against Marquette University on Friday night before shipping out to Omaha, Nebraska, where they will meet #6 Creighton on Sunday afternoon.

UConn Season Recap (12-0): 

The Huskies concluded nonconference play in the Holly Young Invitational, defeating host New Hampshire, Brown, and Central Connecticut. Going into BIG EAST play, UConn is one of seven undefeated teams in D-1. Huskies are second in conference in hitting percentage (.256) and top in opponent hititing percentage (.149), with the last two matches ending in UConn sweeps. The Huskies are led by outsider hitter Emma Werkmeister, second in the conference with 3.95 kills/set, ranks first in the nation in aces/set (.79), and second in the nation in total aces (34) despite missing the match on Saturday. Werkmeister had 7 aces in the sweep over Brown, which is the most for any BIG EAST player this season. Doga Kutlu is averaging 10 assists/set, making the BIG EAST Honor Roll last week. Hanna Tylska won tournament MVP, averaging 3.3 kills/set, and Taylor Pannell is second on the Huskies with 106 kills, 4^th in the conference in hitting percentage (.366). 

Marquette Snapshot (4-5) : The Golden Eagles have the season at a record of 4-5. Marquette has faced six Top 25 opponents already, including a matchup with #1 Pitt last weekend. Marquette faced 6 ranked opponents already, including their last match against #1 Pittsburgh last weekend, and a win over #24 University of Dayton on September 14^th. Marquette went 21-11 last year (16-2 in the BIG EAST), with their only losses coming to 10-time BIG EAST champ Creighton. The Golden Eagles made it to NCAA Second Round before falling to Purdue in 4 sets. 

Players to Watch: Marquette is led by four preseason all-conference selections, headlined by 2022 Setter of the Year Yadhira Anchante. The grad student from Lima, Peru hit 2,500 assists for her career against Pitt. Anchante has 340 assists on the year and took home BIG EAST Setter of the week (9/16, anchored by a 55-assist performance in a win over WKU (9/13). Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton, unanimously selected to the preseason all-conference team, leads the team in kills with 100, is tied for second in blocks (28), and is fourth on this strong Marquette attack with 77 digs. MB Hattie Bray is third on the team in kills (75) and is tied with Hamilton for second in blocks (28). MB Carsen Murray is the defensive leader for the Golden Eagles, leading the team in blocks (29), as well as being strong offensively with 73 kills (4^th on team). 

Head Coach: Ryan Theis is in his 11^th season for the Golden Eagles, with a 233-78 record entering the season. Theis has put together the highest winning percentage in Marquette history throughout his tenure (.749). Theis led Golden Eagles to NCAA Sweet 16 in 2018 and 2022, the latter season being a career-best (29-4). 

Husky Connection: Assistant Coach Abby Gilleland spent three seasons at UConn before joining the Marquette staff, now in her 3^rd year with the Golden Eagles.

History: Marquette leads UConn 14-3 all time, defeating the Huskies twice in their 2023 meetings.

UConn will continue their early conference gauntlet in Omaha, Nebraska to take on #6 Creighton. The Bluejays were the unanimous preseason pick to win the conference, after securing their 10^th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and 9^th BIG EAST Tournament win last season. Creighton made it to the Sweet 16 last year before falling to Louisville in five sets. The #6 ranking is the highest 

Creighton Snapshot (9-2): Creighton has started the season 9-2, with its only losses to #5 Nebraska and #4 Louisville, both in five sets. Last week, the Blue Jays knocked off #6 Purdue and #10 Kansas to finish their nonconference slate. Their strong play led to a clean sweep of the BIG EAST awards (Offensive, Defensive, Setter, Freshman). 

Players to Watch: The Bluejays are led by preseason player of the year OH Norah Sis, who is tied with Werkmeister for kills/set in the conference (3.95). Sis took home Offensive Player of the Week after 4.43 k/set, 2.00 digs on .303 hitting. The 2023 BIG EAST player of the year Senior S Kendra Wait controls the offense for the Bluejays, leading the conference with 10.90 assists/set. The senior had a season-high 51 assists against Purdue, with a double-double in each match from last weekend. Defensively, Senior MB Kiara Reinhardt anchors Creighton, leading the conference with 1.41 blocks/set. Reinhardt had 1.57 blocks and 0.86 digs per set last week to take home BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week in Creighton's big week.

Head Coach: Creighton is led by Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Booth has won National Coach of the Year three times and is the all-time wins leader for the program (470). Under Booth, the Bluejays have won the last ten BIG EAST titles, finishing 29-5 last season. 

History: UConn is 2-4 against Creighton all-time, with the Bluejays coming to Storrs and taking down the Huskies in straight sets last season. 

Watch and Follow: All BIG EAST matches this season will be streamed on FloSports. A live stats link will be provided on uconnhuskies.com to follow along with the Huskies. Get up to the minute updates on social media. You can find UConn Volleyball at @uconnvball on Instagram, @UConnVBall on X, and UConn Volleyball on Facebook.