Volleyball Falls In Thriller To North Carolina, 3-1

Box Score [.pdf]

Kingston, R.I. (Sept. 17) - The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team fell to North Carolina, 3-1 (30-28, 32-30, 24-30, 30-23) on Friday evening at the Rhode Island Invitational hosted by URI. It was the Huskies second loss of the day, as they had fallen, 3-0, to No. 20 Arizona that afternoon.

The Huskies (4-5) held tough in the first game of the match, with the two teams trading points after junior Megan Silver (Snohomish, Wash.) tied the game at nine all. North Carolina eventually came out on top, 30-28. The second game proved to be the tightest, as the two teams again traded points throughout the game. The Huskies held at 23-22 advantage before North Carolina tied the game at 23 and again at 30 all. In the game, senior Heather Ashley (Smithsburg, Md.) had seven kills to lead UConn.

It was all UConn in the third game, as the Huskies scored the first five points and held an 11-2 lead at one point in the match. They closed it out by a score of 30-24, with freshman Sarah Singer (Waukesha, Wisc.) providing the final two kills in the Husky win. After the domination of the third game, UConn fell behind midway through the fourth game, 14-11, and could not close the game out, eventually falling, 30-23.

For the match, Ashley led the Huskies with 20 kills, a season-high and one shy of her career-high. Senior Megan Crawley (Georgetown, Texas) added 16 kills and three service aces while Singer collected a career-high 15 kills. Sophomore Brittany Stewart (Dolton, Ill.) added nine kills and scooped up 16 digs in the loss. Senior setter Jenny Neelands (Gainesville, Fla.) had 60 assists in the match.

North Carolina was led by Christie Clark and Camilly Ihenetu, who each had 18 kills. Lauren Prussing and Amy Beaver each chipped in 12 kills for the Tarheels.

The Huskies return to action later on Saturday, Sept. 17 when they conclude action at the Rhode Island Invitational. UConn will face host URI at 3:00 p.m.