STORRS, Conn. - The Bryant University women's volleyball team was swept by UConn, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at the UConn Volleyball Center. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs (3-5) played the Huskies (3-4) to the wire in sets two and three.
With ten assists in the match, Madison Koeller became the fifth Bulldog in the program's Division I history to record 1,500 assists.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH THERESA GARLACY:
"Tonight, UConn played very fast, and it was a great opportunity for our blockers to see some awesome speed on the court and adjust to it. It took us a little bit to get started, but once we did, we battled with them point for point. We did outdig them in game. Our blockers started getting good touches on the ball, which really allowed the back of our defense to start digging the ball. We served very tough. These matchups get us ready for conference play. That's what we were looking for today — is get in some work on what we need to work on and focus on it tomorrow in practice."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1- UConn, 25-13
- The Huskies jumped out to a 6-1 lead, forcing a Bryant timeout.
- UConn extended its advantage to 15-6 out of the stoppage.
- The Bulldogs proceeded to score three of the next four points through a kill from Brookelyn Talmadge, block from Nina Gavin and UConn service error to trim their deficit to 16-9.
- UConn outscored Bryant 9-4 the rest of the set.
SET 2- UConn, 25-22
- Curran and Hannah Jackson slammed down back-to-back kills to even the score at 4-4.
- A Talmadge kill off a Koeller assist gave the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead, their first of the match.
- Claudia Camacho-Castro delivered an ace and Curran drilled another kill to stretch Bryant's edge to 15-11.
- UConn called a timeout after a service error gave Bryant an 18-14 advantage.
- The Huskies then battled back, going on an 11-4 run to claim the set.
SET 3- UConn, 25-23
- UConn built a 5-1 advantage to open the set.
- The Bulldogs went on a 7-1 surge to take an 8-6 lead, prompting a Huskies timeout. Curran logged an ace and kill during the run.
- The Huskies later found momentum and scored four unanswered points to take a 15-13 edge.
- UConn went up 20-15, but the Bulldogs scored in three of four rallies, including a kill from Gavin, to trim their deficit to 21-18.
- Bryant rattled off three straight points to pull within one, 23-22, before the Huskies fended them off to secure the sweep.
STATS AND NOTES:
- Talmadge and Jackson finished with five kills each.
- Madison Keem also tallied 10 assists.
- Gavin produced two kills and a solo block.
- The Bulldogs outdug the Huskies, 42-37.
NEXT UP:
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday, Sept. 11, against Marist at the Chace Athletic Center in their first of four games in the Bryant Invitational. First serve is set for 1 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
