Championship Central

No. 5 UConn Conquers No. 4 St. John’s in Thrilling Five-Set Showdown

Fifth-seeded UConn captured the first set of the 2022 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship, 25-19, before conceding the second and third to No. 4 St. John’s. With the threat of a plane ride home looming, the Huskies took control of the match in a must-win fourth set. After tying the set at 8-8, Connecticut refused to relinquish the lead en route to a 25-17 victory.

After exchanging blows to start the fifth set, St. John’s stormed ahead, gaining as much as a four point lead (8-4) at the halfway mark. A service ace by unanimous All-BIG EAST senior Caylee Parker, however, turned the tide back in Connecticut’s favor (8-5). The Huskies clawed back within one before tying the set at 13-13 courtesy of an ace by freshman Brenna Wyman. St. John’s sophomore and unanimous All-BIG EAST selection Giorgia Walther logged her 19^th kill of the night (14-13), but Parker struck back to maintain the tie (14-14).

Undeterred, Walther collected another kill for the match point (15-14). With a spot in the semifinals at stake, UConn took advantage of a pair of Red Storm errors to go up 16-15. After leading the contest with six blocks, senior Kennadie Jake-Turner sent out the serve before an attack error sealed UConn’s victory, 17-15.

The Red Storm's unanimous All-Freshman honoree, Lucrezia Lodi, paced the match with a season-best 24 kills, the most by any rookie this year. For UConn, Caylee Parker, Allie Garland and Jasmine Davis all contributed 14 kills with Garland hitting a match-best .480.

No. 3 Xavier Overcomes No. 6 Butler, 3-1

The third-seeded Xavier Musketeers avenged a mid-season loss to No. 6 Butler with a decisive four-set win over the Bulldogs. Xavier took the first two sets 25-16, 25-13 before Butler grabbed the third, 25-20. Powered by a 22-kill effort from All-BIG EAST team member Brooklyn Cink, the Musketeers earned their way to the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament semifinals with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set.

Additionally, Cink logged a match-best 26 points.
Unanimous All-BIG EAST selection, Carrigan O’Reilly, led the match in assists (43) while Lucia Corsaro had an evening-high 25 digs. Delaney Hogan posted six blocks.

BIG EAST Libero of the Year Jaymeson Kinley registered a Butler-best 22 digs while teammate Mariah Grunze led the Bulldogs with 13 kills. All-Freshman honoree Cora Taylor contributed 29 assists.