Huskies Defeat Pittsburgh, 3-1

Box Score [.pdf]

STORRS, Conn. (November 11) - The University of Connecticut women's volleyball team defeated Pittsburgh, 3-1 (25-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-28) on Friday evening in Gampel Pavilion. With the win, the Huskies improve to 14-13 overall and 6-7 against BIG EAST opponents while Pittsburgh is now 16-10 overall and 9-4 in the BIG EAST.

UConn opened the first game on the strong serve of junior Kaity Craig (Terryville, Conn.), as the Huskies held a quick 8-2 advantage. UConn would lead through the majority of the match until the Panthers battled back to tie the score at 22-22. The score would be tied twice more before Pittsburgh took a 24-23 lead and captured the game. For UConn, freshman Sarah Singer (Waukesha, Wisc.) had five kills in the game while senior Megan Crawley (Georgetown, Texas) had three kills and four digs. Two other Huskies had three kills in the game and sophomore Brittany Stewart (Dolton, Ill.) picked up 10 digs.

The second game began much like the first, as UConn took the early 11-6 lead. Pittsburgh chipped away at the lead, moving to within one three times before tying the score at 18-18. The Huskies regained the lead with a kill by Craig and then took a six point lead on two service aces by sophomore Julie Pickard (Hillsborough, N.C.) to put away the Panthers in the game. In addition to Pickard's two aces, Singer and Crawley each tallied five kills, as did senior Heather Ashley (Smithsburg, Md.). Craig had three kills in the game and three block assists while Crawley picked up four digs.

The third game was Pittsburgh's turn to take the lead, as the Panthers took a 10-2 lead early. UConn chipped away at that lead consistently, eventually tying the score at 17 all midway through the game. The two teams traded points throughout the remainder of the match, as the score was tied seven times before the Huskies pulled away with the 30-27 victory. Singer had six kills in the game, as did Crawley. The senior also had three digs and fellow classmate Ashley tallied four kills. Stewart, Crawley and senior Jenny Neelands (Gainesville, Fla.) each had one service ace in the game.

The final game proved to be the closest of the four, as the two teams tied the score ten times before the conclusion of play. Heading into the final moments, UConn held a 27-23 lead, but Pittsburgh battled back to within one twice. The Huskies closed out the game and the match on a kill by Singer. Freshman Lorelle Schaub (New Brighton, Minn.) and Craig each had three kills in the game and Craig also had five block assists in the UConn win. Crawley tallied two kills and picked up four digs in the game.

For the match, Singer led the Huskies with 18 kills. She also had three digs and four block assists in the win. Crawley wrapped up the match with 16 kills, two service aces and 15 digs while Ashley had 12 kills and four block assists. Craig tallied nine kills for the match, assisted on nine blocks and had one solo block. Schaub tallied a career-high seven kills in the match while Stewart picked up 25 digs.

The Huskies are next in action on Sunday, Nov. 13 when they host West Virginia in Gampel Pavilion. The match will begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be preceded by the Hartford Courant careerbuilder.com Senior Salute.