Women's Volleyball Falls to St. John's 3-0 in BIG EAST Quarterfinal

UCONN vs St. John's (Nov 16, 2007)

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. (November 16, 2007) - Senior and All-BIG EAST First Team selection Sadé Chambers (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) recorded a team-high 10 kills as the University of Connecticut women's volleyball team fell to St. John's 3-0 (27-30, 16-30, 15-30) in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals in the Al McGuire Center on the campus of Marquette University on Friday afternoon.

Chambers led the Huskies with 10 kills and two blocks while freshman Rebecca Murray (Carmel, Ind.) added five kills in the loss.

In the first game of the match, the Huskies took the floor showing a great deal of enthusiasm and energy, pushing points while taking an eventual 20-15 lead. The Red Storm battled back into the game, tying the score late then taking the lead at 29-27, despite two straight service errors. St. John's ended the first game on a Hui Ping Huang kill to take the first 30-27.

The Red Storm began the second game with a 5-1 run before a UConn timeout. After a missed serve by St. John's, the Red Storm went on another 4-1 run before a block by the Husky front line. Hitting errors haunted the UConn program early in the second game, as the Huskies recorded just one kill and five errors in nine attempts before the second timeout was called by UConn head coach Holly Strauss.

St. John's improved their lead to 24-12 before two quick points from the Huskies, but the Red Storm jumped back into play, pulling their lead to 12, led by BIG EAST Player of the Year Huang with two key plays with one kill and one block. The Red Storm recorded 12 kills with a .241 hitting percentage and held the Huskies to a -.105 percentage while taking the second game with a 30-16 victory.

UConn fired out of the gates in the third game, led by five quick kills combined from Chambers' and senior Gina Heiderman (Niles, Ill.). The Red Storm took a 17-10 lead over the Huskies before another Red Storm service error. Junior Chauntey Mickens (Germantown, Md.) also stepped up big for the Huskies, as she recorded three kills in the third game of play.

Eventually the Red Storm stretched its lead to 21-13 before another service error. But multiple kills by the St. John's offense led by both Huang and Latoya Blunt put the Red Storm further ahead of the Huskies before taking the 30-15 victory.

Sophomore setter Bridget Denson-Dorman (Golden Valley, Minn.), an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection the past two seasons, dished out 29 assists to tie fifth ranked Karin Jinbo with 2,566 career assists. Libero Jessica Isaac (Erlanger, Ky.) picked up 16 digs in the loss.

In the first quarterfinal match on Friday morning, No. 4 Notre Dame defeated No. 5 Cincinnati 3-1 (30-26, 30-24, 23-30, 30-24). The Irish's Ashley Tarutis recorded 50 assists and 14 digs while Adrianna Stasiuk put down 20 kills, posting a .368 hitting percentage, and 17 digs in the win.

The Irish will advance to Saturday competition as they face Louisville in semifinal action at 1:00 p.m. (CST). The Louisville Cardinals swept Syracuse 3-0 (30-23, 30-24, 30-20) in the second game of Friday's quarterfinal competition. Led by senior Svetlana Dukule, the Cardinals dominated play, hitting .552 with 18 kills and just two hitting errors in the second game of the match. Dukule had 16 kills and four blocks while Louisville setter Samantha Dabbs recorded 44 assists and Jana Matiasovska added 11 kills in the three-game match. Syracuse was led by three individuals each with 10 kills, as Kacie MacTavish added nine digs to her 10 kills. April Quigley handed out 34 assists in the loss.

UConn drops to an overall record of 18-11 on the season after the tournament loss. The Huskies will travel to Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 24 for a non-conference match-up against the Lady Razorbacks, which is set to start at 1:30 p.m.