DURHAM, N.H.- UConn Volleyball took on their second Ivy League opponent of the non-conference slate, battling Brown on Friday afternoon in Durham, looking to keep their long winning streak alive.
UConn and Brown went back and forth with errors in the early going, knotted at 5 each. Emma Werkmeister gave the Huskies a big jolt on the offensive end with back to back aces of her own to give UConn a mid-set lead at 13-9, but Brown swung the momentum back in their favor, with 5 straight points to reclaim the lead at 14-13. Jess Perry got back on the scoresheet with a kill, and Taylor Pannell chipped in two more of her own to get UConn back in front at 20-17 Werkmeister continued to dominate on the service, with another ace, her 3rd of the first frame. The Bears got the lead to as close as two, but Pannell and a combined block from Hanna Tylska and Audrey Rome lifted the Huskies in the first set, 25-21.
Werkmeister and Perry kept up their strong play in the second frame to get the Huskies in front early 6-4. Pannell continued to pace UConn in the set with consecutive kills to keep her side in front 12-9. Brown responded with a run of their own, as Mariia Sidorova chipped in 3 of the Bears’ 4 kills to knot the score at 14-14. Brown rode the momentum to a late second set lead, jumping in front of UConn 20-16. Pannell kept the Huskies within striking distance, again putting together two kills in a row to cut the Bears’ lead in half. The grad student from Middletown, N.Y. would not be denied, backpacking UConn with 4 consecutive points, part of a 7-0 Husky run with a resounding response to leapfrog back in front 23-21. Tylska went on an individual 3 kill run of her own, with an Audrey Rome kill completing the second set comeback for a commanding UConn 2-0 set lead…