Volleyball claims 3-1 win at UConn

Box Score (PDF)

STORRS, Connecticut – The Marquette University women's volleyball team rallied for a 19-25, 25-11, 25-13, 25-22 victory over UConn on Saturday after dropping the opening set at the UConn Volleyball Center.

Senior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton led the Golden Eagles (7-7, 3-0 BIG EAST) with 13 kills, while four other players had at least eight. Ella Foti had a near double-double with nine kills and 11 digs and made a huge impact at the service line by tying a season high with three aces. Libero Sarah Kushner also had a season-best three aces for MU and posted a team-best 17 digs.

The Huskies (5-10, 0-3 BIG EAST) hit just .158 in the loss and were led by 13 kills from Cera Powell.

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Marquette is 13-3 all-time against UConn and the Golden Eagles have won the last 10 matchups in the series, including three sweeps of the Huskies last season.
Saturday's match was Marquette's first contest outside the city of Milwaukee since the Golden Eagles faced then-No. 23 Kansas on Sept. 2 in Lawrence, Kansas. MU had played its last eight games in Milwaukee (six at the Al McGuire Center, one at Fiserv Forum and one at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).
In the eight matches (26 sets) since Hamilton was held to a -.042 (5-6-24) hitting percentage against then-No. 9 Pitt on Sept. 8, she is hitting .340 (110-24-253) with 4.23 kills per set, 10 service aces, 41 digs and 17 blocks.
Marquette used an 8-0 run to pull to set point, 24-12, in the third set.
MU trailed early in the fourth set, but claimed four consecutive points to take its first lead, 10-9. UConn fought off three match points before a Hattie Bray and Yadhira Anchante block ended the match.
UConn hit a match-high .424 in the opening set win, the first set victory for the Huskies against MU in the last five meetings.
Marquette has won at a 74.7 percent clip (210-71) since joining the BIG EAST and is 125-27 (.822) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
MU is 86-12 (.878) in BIG EAST play over the last seven seasons (2017-23) under Theis, including consecutive regular season league titles in 2021 (16-2) and 2022 (17-1).
The Huskies have dropped six of their last seven matches after consecutive wins over Sacred Heart and Rhode Island.
The Huskies entered the match hitting a combined .188 on the season and were allowing their opponents to hit a BIG EAST-worst .235. MU hit .260 on Saturday.
UConn is led by fifth-year head coach Ellen Herman-Kimball, who played under MU head coach Ryan Theis at Ohio.
Current MU assistant Abby Gilleland is in her second year at Marquette after serving three seasons under Herman-Kimball in Storrs. UConn assistant Peter Netisingha replaced Gilleland for the Huskies and served as a volunteer assistant coach at MU during the 2021 campaign.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles head to Providence for a Sunday matinee before returning to Milwaukee. Marquette hosts DePaul on Wednesday and a highly anticipated matchup with No. 16 Creighton is set for Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).