University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Suffer Tough 3-1 Loss to West Virginia
10/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
,
MORGANTOWN, WV (Oct. 12) - The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team lost 3-1 to BIG EAST rival West Virginia (4-14, 1-4). The loss was a disappointing one for the Huskies (11-9, 1-3) who have defeated the Mountaineers in the last nine meetings between the teams, and lost only one other time in 1989. A double-double performance of 18 kills and 19 digs by Jamie Hadenfeldt (Benicia, CA) was unable to save UConn, who won only the third game of the match.
Kelly Mullins led West Virginia with 15 kills and 15 digs as the Mountaineers defeated the Huskies by scores of 30-23, 30-25, 26-30, 30-28. West Virginia’s Alison Zemanski and Julie Hockenson were also dangerous on the attack with 14 kills apiece, and Kristi King led all players with 22 digs.
The Mountaineers started off the match with their strongest performance in game one, recording 20 team kills and just eight errors while the Huskies managed to knock down only 11 kills with seven errors. Only game three went UConn’s way, as both teams struggled with their hitting accuracy but the Huskies stayed on top to pull out the win. Game four looked as if it could go either way, but a kill for Zemanski gave the game and the match to the Mountaineers.
Megan Crawley (Georgetown, TX) helped on the Husky offense with 12 kills, and Raftyn Birath (Marshall, MN) chipped in 11 kills. Jenny Neelands (Gainesville, FL) stepped up on defense in the match with a team-high 21 digs.
Next up for UConn is a home match versus BIG EAST opponent St. John’s on Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m.
