Oct. 9, 2004
Box Score
STORRS, Conn. - In the BIG EAST regular season opener for both teams, Connecticut (9-6, 1-0 BIG EAST) used a 9-2 run in the fourth and final game and defeated Villanova (4-10, 0-1 BE) on Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies won the match by scores of 30-20, 23-30, 30-28, 30-26.
Down 2-1 in the match, Villanova used a 9-2 run of its own midway through the fourth game and led 19-14 after freshman outside hitter Kacy Sellers (Battle Creek, Mich.) served up one of her five aces on the day. However, the Wildcats made six errors down the stretch of the game, and the Huskies had seven blocks in the final frame to seal the victory.
Sellers led Villanova with a season-best 18 kills to lead three Wildcats in double figures. Sophomore middle blocker Adrian Semrau (Grafton, Ohio) added 14 kills and junior outside hitter Celine Nguyen (Palos Verdes, Calif.) registered her third straight double-double and seventh of the season with 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Junior outside hitter Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif.) and sophomore setter Jen Lalli (Media, Pa.) added 15 and 14 digs, respectively, for the Wildcats, which played one of their best defensive matches of the season. Lalli also dished out 40 assists.
With the match tied at one game apiece, Connecticut went ahead 2-1 by scoring eight of the final 11 points to win the third game 30-28. With Villanova ahead 25-22, the Huskies scored five of the next six points to take the lead for good. The Wildcats made four errors during that stretch, and were plagued in the match by 40 attack errors and a .098 team attack percentage.
The Huskies, which entered conference play ranked ninth in the league in blocks, came up with a season-high 13.0 total blocks. Kaity Craig led the Huskies with 10 total blocks, while Jamie Hadenfeldt and Sade Chambers each had five blocks. Heather Ashley led Connecticut with 17 kills.
After dropping the first game, Villanova tied the match by scoring the final nine points in the second game. Trailing 23-21, Sellers started the Villanova rally with a kill and then served the next eight points, including three aces, to put away the game. There were 17 ties and nine lead changes in the game.
Villanova returns to the court on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Boston College for a 1 p.m. contest.
NOTES: Nguyen has seven double-doubles in 12 matches this season ... Lalli's double-double was the first of her career ... Villanova lost its conference opener for the sixth straight season ... The Wildcats have begun conference play on the road in each of the past three seasons and seven of the past eight ... A fire alarm went off in the building with the score tied at 6-6 in the second game ... The arena was briefly evacuated, and play resumed after a 10-minute delay.
