STORRS, Conn.- UConn volleyball wraps up their non-conference slate this week, traveling up to New Hampshire to take on the University of New Hampshire and Brown for the Holly Young Invitational, before coming back home Saturday afternoon to face in-state opponent Central Connecticut.
The Huskies have gotten off to the best start in program history, winning their first nine matches. Offensively, UConn has been led by outside hitter Emma Werkmeister, who has 146 kills (4.06/set) and 23 service aces (0.64/set) on the season, which lands the junior at 3rd and 1st in the BIG EAST, respectively. Doga Kutlu is 4thin the conference with 10.03 assists per set, notching her 1,000th set assist in her UConn career last weekend. Defensively, Loren Winn and Audrey Rome have stood out, both being top five in blocks/set in the BIG EAST, at 1.33 and 1.14/ set.
New Hampshire (9/19, 6pm)
University of New Hampshire plays their first home matches of the season in Durham, kicking off the Holly Young Invitational against the Huskies on Thursday evening. UNH has put together a 4-5 record so far in 2024, posting a 1-2 record last week in College Station, Texas at the Texas A&M Invitational, sweeping Louisiana before falling to the host Aggies and Temple. Last season, the Wildcats went 18-9, 7-3 in America East conference play. New Hampshire's season ended against Binghamton in the AE Championship Semifinals.
The Wildcats are led by outside hitter Hannah Serbousek, who made the preseason all-conference team in the America East Conference. Serbousek has notched 94 kills and is second on the team with 104 digs. Middle blockers Kelly Kaufmann and Rachel Grier have combined for 90 blocks for the Wildcats, and rank second and third in the AE in hitting percentage with at .327 and .318.
At the helm for New Hampshire is Christopher Feliciano, who has been head coach for the Wildcats since 2019. As head coach, Feliciano has put together a record of 59-35, and is 27-15 in America East conference play. Feliciano brought the Wildcats to the America East Championship game in 2022, leading his team to the AE Playoffs 4 times throughout his tenure.
UConn has controlled the all-time series with New Hampshire, winning 7 of the 8 matchups, including a win in the last matchup in 2021.
Brown (9/20, 4pm)
UConn plays their second and final match up in Durham on Friday afternoon against Brown, the second Ivy League opponent the Huskies have faced this season.
The Bears are 2-4 this season, with hopes to bounce back after close losses last weekend in Chicago, falling in five sets to Bowling Green and UIC. UConn will be the third BIG EAST opponent that Brown will face this season, after already facing Providence and DePaul. Last season, Brown went 19-7 (9-5 Ivy), making all the way to the Ivy league title before dropping the match to Yale.
Mariiia Sidorova paces the Bears on the offensive attack, leading the team with 90 kills so far this season. Ally Panzloff has also been key for Brown after not playing last season, pouring in 84 kills of her own. Defensively, Beau Vanderlaan has been the anchor for Brown this season, leading the way with 34 total blocks, building on a 2023 season that saw the senior named First-Team All-Ivy.
Taylor Virtue is the head coach for Brown after a successful debut season in 2023 that got the Bears to the Ivy League final. Vanderlaan and Cierra Jenkins were named First-Team All-Ivy under Virtue last season, with Jessie Golden being named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. Virtue had the best first-year season in program history, with 19 wins.
In their three all-time matchups, UConn has gone 2-1 against Brown. Last season, the Bears beat UConn in Storrs in straight sets.
Central Connecticut (9/21, 12pm)
The Huskies wrap up their weekend on Saturday afternoon back in Storrs at the UConn Volleyball Center against in-state opponent Central Connecticut State University. The Blue Devils have opened their season 2-6 overall, fresh off their first two wins against Holy Cross and Saint Peter's. Weronika Poczynek leads CCSU with 80 kills, and is second on the team with 73 digs. Olivia Keckler, fresh off winning NEC Freshman of the Week this past week, is third on the Blue Devils with 56 kills, notching double digit performances in the last two wins for CCSU.
Alyssa Broccoli is in her first season as the CCSU Head Coach, looking to reboot the Blue Devils after a 6-20 season in 2023. Before CCSU, Broccoli was the director of volleyball and head women's volleyball coach, and men's volleyball assistant coach at Drew University , winning Landmark Conference Coach of the Year in 2021, leading the program to its first postseason berth in program history in 2023.
UConn was won all four matchups against CCSU all-time, winning the last matchup in a sweep back in 2021.
Family Ties: With the matchup on Saturday, UConn Assistant Coach Lindsey Froehlich will face off against her husband, Mike, who is an assistant coach for CCSU volleyball. The Froehlichs have split their meetings 1-1, with Saturday serving as an important rubber match.
How to Watch: Thursday's match against UNH will be on ESPN+, with Saturday being streamed on UConn+. Links to live stats will be on the uconnhuskies.com, with live updates being posted on @UConnVBall on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
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