The University of Miami volleyball team lost its first Big East match of the season falling 3-1 to Connecticut Saturday afternoon in Storrs, Conn.
Miami lost the first two games 30-20 and 31-29 before rallying to take game three 30-25. The Huskies answered right back downing Miami 30-18 in the fourth game.
“We didn’t compete enough today, we didn’t find a way to win every point and every rally like we had to. It was a disappointing loss,” Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said after the loss. “Jamie Grass and Karla Johnson each really stepped up and played great for us, Jamie on passing and defense and Karla attacking and blocking.”
The Hurricanes posted a season-low .107 hitting percentage in the match.
Senior Leyre Santaella Sante led Miami with 15 kills while sophomore Johnson tallied 14 kills. Red shirt freshman Francheska Savage had 12 kills, junior Elizabeth Tyson had eight, and sophomore Robin Lewullis added six for the Hurricanes.
Junior Mallorey James had a team-high 28 assists, while junior Grass had 25 digs.
The Huskies were led by Jamie Hadenfeldt, who totaled 20 kills in the match. Raftyn Birath added 14 kills and Megan Crawley had 13. Setter Julie Erbez had a team-high 53 assists, while Xaimara Coss led the Huskies with 27 digs. Hadenfeldt contributed 12 digs as well.
The Hurricanes were able to rebound against St. John’s on Sunday afternoon in Jamaica, New York, sweeping the Red Storm 3-0. Each game was close, as the ‘Canes pulled out a 30-24 win to start the match and took the next two games with scores of 30-25 and 30-26.
With the victory, the Hurricanes improve to 17-6 overall, with a 6-1 record in the Big East. The Red Storm fell to 22-7 (4-3) with the loss.
Savage had a big day for the Hurricanes with 17 kills. Santaella Sante was second on the team with 14, and Tyson added 13. James paced the ‘Canes with 53 assists, and Grass finished with 15 digs.
The Red Storm were led by Rosalyn Dang, who totaled 12 kills, setter Robyn Kurasaki, who added 23 assists, and libero Nicole Coaluca, who came up with eight digs in the loss. Dang and Puna Richardson combined for 11 blocks to lead St. John’s.
The Hurricanes return to action on Wednesday night in Boca Raton to take on non-conference opponent Florida Atlantic.