STORRS, Conn.- On November 18^th, 2023, UConn volleyball closed out their season with a five-set home victory over Villanova. The victory wrapped up a tough season for the Huskies, the first one in the building formerly known as the Freitas Ice Forum. UConn finished tied for tied for last in the BIG EAST, with a conference record of 3-15. 

The expectations around the league heading into the 2024 campaign reflected the difficult previous season. UConn was predicted to finish 9^th in the 11-team conference BIG EAST in the preseason poll, with no Huskies selected to the preseason all-conference team. In August, the UConn Volleyball Center was officially upgraded with new seats and a massive video board. It was fitting that the 2024 squad matched this rebuilt facility with an upgrade of their own, channeling that energy into their on-court play. 

All the way back in August and September, it was evident that something was different about the 2024 Huskies, welcoming in the semester with three straight home victories at the UVC, getting the season started on the right foot. Throughout the season, the coaching staff and players gravitated together behind one word: relentless. The relentless nature of the program was on display early, in the team's first tough test of the young season. Down two sets to zero to Colgate on the road in Hamilton, N.Y., there was no surrender. After chipping away and taking the third set, UConn trailed 24-19 in the fourth set, backs against the wall. True to their mantra, the Huskies scratched and clawed their way to tying the score at 24-all, taking the fourth set 28-26, and completing an improbable comeback to reverse sweep the Patriot League Champions on the road. 

After overcoming an improbable deficit like they did in New York, there was nothing out of reach for UConn in the nonconference schedule. The Huskies sprinted out to the best start in the program history at 12-0, sweeping the Dog Pound Challenge in mid-September, highlighted by a wild five-set win over UAlbany that sent a sell-out crowd of 1,085 home happy.

What sets good teams apart from great teams is how they deal with adversity and setbacks. As BIG EAST play began, UConn suffered their first two defeats against conference and national powerhouses Marquette and Creighton, who made deep runs into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Rather than allowing the losing skid to spiral, the Huskies showed out in front of the 1994 and 1998 BIG EAST Conference Champion squads on alumni weekend, rattling off consecutive wins against Georgetown and Seton Hall to ring in October. 

In a sweep-victory over Providence in a midweek home match, UConn suffered another setback, as kill-leader Emma Werkmeister went down with an ankle injury. Werkmeister's junior season was off to an incredible start, with the outside hitter dominating the service line, leading the nation in service aces per set as the calendar flipped to October. 

With Werkmeister on the mend, the Huskies again had to channel their relentless attitude, stepping up in her absence. The contributions came from different players every match, a balanced effort that brought the team closer together. The returning veterans made their presence felt. Taylor Pannell, the longest tenured Husky on the roster, elevated her play in the stretch without Werkmeister, punctuated by a 14-kill, 9-block performance in a five-set win over St. John's in October. Setter Doga Kutlu shined on both ends, conducting the offense with multiple 40+ assist performances and stepping up defensively, with a conference-high 32 digs in a win over Villanova. 

The returners were not alone in energizing this turnaround. Transferring in from Navarro College, Hanna Tylska put together several double-digit kill matches in Werkmeister's absence, keeping the UConn attack strong as the conference slate marched on. The freshmen made an immediate impact as well.  McKenna Brand, Loren Winn, and Anna Herman provided bursts of energy throughout the season, performing like veterans to make this UConn team a well-oiled machine on both sides of the ball. 

Werkmeister returned in November as the Huskies looked to secure a BIG EAST Tournament berth. For the first and only time all season, UConn was dealt a crushing home defeat against DePaul, taking place on an emotional senior night that recognized Pannell, Kutlu, and Carly Furlong. Consistent to their bounceback play all season, the Huskies responded to the defeat with three dominating wins to close out the regular season, sweeping Xavier at home before hitting the road and taking down St. John's and 'Nova in straight sets. After being picked 9^th in the preseason poll, the Huskies defied expectations, rolling in to the conference tournament as the BIG EAST 3-seed. 

The stars got their much-needed recognition as the regular season ended. Kutlu (unanimous), Pannell, and Werkmeister were all named all-conference selections. Brand, along with Xavier's Margo Kemp, took home Co-Freshman of the Year. Although they did not win, UConn's coaching staff, led by Coach Ellen Herman-Kimball, received a handful of votes around the league for Coaching Staff of the Year. 

UConn was not able to go on a deep run in the conference tournament, defeated by 'Nova in a five-set battle in the first round, with Tylska's 29 kill performance (the most in a BE Tournament match in 25+ years) not enough to get the Huskies to the semifinals. However, because of their turnaround season, UConn received the automatic qualifier for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

In the NIVC, the 2024 Huskies took care of business against Mercer, winning their first round match in straight sets. Saddled with an early one-set deficit against host East Carolina in the Super 16, UConn stormed back to take the next three frames, setting up a date with St. John's for round 3 between the conference foes.

The Huskies dropped the first two sets against the Johnnies, putting their 2024 season on the line. Months into a historic campaign for the program, UConn battled until the end, securing a marathon third set. In the fourth, similar to the heroics against Colgate in September, the Huskies dug deep, tying up the score at 24-all after falling behind 24-19. UConn did not have enough to pull off another miraculous comeback this time around, with their season ending in Queens.

For decades, UConn volleyball moved around the Storrs campus, competing in different locations throughout the program's existence. In 2023, the Huskies settled down on Jim Calhoun Way and opened play in a building that they could call their own. In a 2024 season that saw the Huskies win 18 more games and outperform all expectations, they can officially call this building home.