Assistant Coach: Ellen Kimball (Ohio ’10) Assistant Coach: Matt Scott (Louisville ‘12)
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UCONN VOLLEYBALL 2017 HUSKIES 2 QUICK FACTS 3 FACILITIES 4 2017 PREVIEW 5 PLAYER PROFILES 6-16 COACH PROFILES 17-18 2016 REVIEW 19-20 ALL-TIME RESULTS 21-25 ALL-TIME SERIES 26 ALL-TIME LETTERWINNERS 27 CAREER RECORDS 28 SEASON RECORDS 29 ANNUAL LEADERS 30 SUPPORT STAFF 31 THE AMERICAN 32 UCONN POSTSEASON/AWARDS 33-34 UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT 35-49 CREDITS: The 2017 University of Connecticut Volleyball Media Guide is an official publication of the University of Connecticut Division of Athletics. This media guide was written and designed by Steve Lewis. Cover Design by Kevin Spillman, UConn Marketing. Special Thanks to Kris Grunwald and Ellen Kimball. Photography Credits: Steve Slade, Ryan Sayers, Bob Stowell and The American Athletic Conference. 2017 UCONN HUSKIES NO. NAME POSITION HEIGHT CLASS HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL 1 Elizabeth Kline L/DS 5-6 Jr. Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler Area 2 Danielle Cabel OH 6-2 Sr. Bettendorf, Iowa/Iowa 3 Londyn Johnson MB 6-1 Fr. Aurora, Col./Cherokee Trail 4 Emma Turner S 5-10 Jr. Winter Park, Fla./Lake Highland Prep 5 Ally Barrett OH 6-1 Fr. Geneva, Ill./Geneva 6 Kayla Williams OH/PH 5-9 R-So. Staten Island, N.Y./Seward Park 7 Kenya Cason OH 5-11 Sr. Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales 8 Genna Florig MB 6-1 R-Fr. Portland, Ore./Sunset High School 9 Isabelle Peterson MB 5-10 Fr. Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas 11 Avery Spaziani DS 5-6 So. Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy 12 Courtney Morris S 6-1 Fr. North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan 13 Tosin Adeniyi MB 6-2 Sr. Springfield, Ill./Chatham-Glenwood 15 Iman McGary OH 5-11 Jr. Rockford, Ill./Keith School 18 Kennedy Arundel DS 5-6 Jr. Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley HEAD COACH: Kris Grunwald (George Mason ’91, Florida State ’93) ASSISTANT COACH: Ellen Kimball (Ohio ’10) ASSISTANT COACH: Matt Scott (Louisville ‘12) NATIONWIDE HUSKIES Illinois (4) Tosin Adeniyi Iowa (1) Kennedy Arundel Danielle Cabel Ally Barrett Ohio (2) Iman McGary Kenya Cason Courtney Morris Oregon (1) Massachusetts (1) Genna Florig Avery Spaziani New York (1) Kayla Williams Pennsylvania (1) Nevada (1) Elizabeth Kline Isabelle Peterson Colorado (1) Londyn Johnson Florida (1) Emma Turner UConn’s roster features 14 student-athletes from 10 states, spanning the continental United States from New England to Florida to Oregon. 2 2016 UCONN VOLLEYBALL #BleedBlue 2 University of Connecticut Location........................................................... Storrs, Conn. Founded ...................................................................... 1881 2017 Schedule Nicknames ................................................. Huskies, UConn August Colors ............................National Flag Blue (Navy) & White 25 vs. Sacramento St. & 12:00 p.m. Affiliation .....................................................NCAA Division I vs. New Hampshire & 8:00 p.m. Conference ...........................American Athletic Conference 26 at St. John’s & 5:00 p.m. President ....................................................... Susan Herbst September Director of Athletics......................................David Benedict 1 IONA @ 12:30 p.m. Team Administrator ......................................Evan Feinglass LSU @ 7:00 p.m. Total Enrollment ........................................................ 31,624 2 HARTFORD @ 2:00 p.m. Home Venue ..................Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,241) 8 vs.Returning Albany # Defensemen (4) 11:00 a.m. at Villanova # 7:30 p.m. Team Information 9 vs. Princeton # 11:00 a.m. 15 vs. UMKC ^ 1:30 p.m. Head Coach..................Kris Grunwald (George Mason ‘91) at Bradley ^ 7:00 p.m. Overall Career Record................................................85-69 16 vs. Grand Canyon ^ 10:30 a.m. Record at UConn ............................ 44-49 (Three Seasons) 22 MEMPHIS * 7:00 p.m. Assistant Coach..............................Ellen Kimball (Ohio ‘10) 24 WICHITA ST. * 12:00 p.m. Assistant Coach...........................Matt Scott (Louisville ‘12) 29 at Houston * 8:00 p.m. Office Phone ................................................(860) 486-2612 2016 Final Record ......................................................16-15 October 2016 The American Record .................................7-13/T-8th 1 at Tulane* 1:00 p.m. Letterwinners R/L ........................................................... 8/4 6 CINCINNATI * 7:00 p.m. 8 EAST CAROLINA * 12:00 p.m. Athletic Communications 13 at UCF * 7:00 p.m. 15 at USF * 12:00 p.m. Volleyball Contact ..............................................Ally Greene 20 SMU * 7:00 p.m. Volleyball Contact Phone: ................Office: (860) 486-1496 22 TULSA * 12:00 p.m. ............................................................ Cell: (978)-866-1874 27 TULANE * 7:00 p.m. Volleyball Contact Email [email protected] 29 HOUSTON * 12:00 p.m. Athletic Communications Office ...................(860) 486-3531 Athletic Comm. Fax .....................................(860) 486-5085 November Athletic Comm. Address ....... 2095 Hillside Road, Unit 1173 3 at Wichita State * 8:00 p.m. .................................................... Storrs, Conn. 06269-1173 5 at Memphis * 2:00 p.m. Athletic Department Website ....... www.UConnHuskies.com 9 at Tulsa * 8:00 p.m. 11 at SMU * 2:00 p.m. 17 USF * 7:00 p.m. 19 UCF * 12:00 p.m. 22 at Temple * 1:00 p.m. @UConnVB 24 TEMPLE * 1:00 p.m. & St. John’s Invite (Jamaica, N.Y.) /UConnVB @ Dog Pound Challenge (Storrs, Conn.) # Villanova Classic (Philadelphia, Pa.) ^ Bradley Invite (Peoria, Ill.) * Indicates American Athletic Conference match ALL HOME MATCHES ARE IN BOLD CAPS AND WILL BE PLAYED AT GUYER GYM IN STORRS, CONN. 2 2016 UCONN VOLLEYBALL #BleedBlue 3 2016 UCONN VOLLEYBALL #BleedBlue 3 UCONNHUSKIES.COM 2017 UCONN VOLLEYBALL GUYER GYM The 2017 season marks the first season since 1993 that the UConn volleyball team will not play its home matches in Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies will play in the Guyer Gym, located in the UConn Recreation Center, due to a dome recon- struction project on Gampel that will last until late October. UConn has compiled an overall record of 219-103 since beginning play in the Pavilion in 1993. This season, Connecticut will play at least 14 matches in front of a home crowd in the Guyer Gym. In the 1992 season, the Huskies went 23-14 (2-5 Big East) under head coach Ellen Crandall in their most recent year in the Guyer Gym. UConn went 6-3 in home matches that season, while setting a program-record at the time with 23 victories overall. The UConn volleyball team has access to two different weight rooms in Gampel Pavilion along with the Hugh S. Greer Field House Weight Room for use during their strength and conditioning workouts. The weight rooms feature custom made multi-use racks and platforms, dumbbell racks, cable machines and various Cybex Machines. TRENDING UPWARD The Huskies enjoyed a second-straight winning season under head coach Kris Grunwald, achieving a 16-15 mark (7-13 2017 American). The 2016 campaign began with UConn winning 11 of its first 13 matches, including a sweep of Loyola Maryland, Yale and St. Francis Brooklyn in the Dog SEASON Pound Challenge on Sept. 9-10 in Gampel Pavilion. ADDING A NEW OPPONENT REVIEW New to the American Athletic Conference in 2017 is Wichita P State, a team perenially ranking in the Top 25 across all of Division I. The Huskies will be one of the first teams to host the Shockers on Sept. 24, before visiting them on Nov. 3 in Kansas. The Shockers reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to TCU. FOUR NEWCOMERS TO THE TEAM Freshmen Ally Barrett (Geneva, Ill.), Londyn Johnson (Aurora, Col.), Courtney Morris (North Royal- ton, Ohio) and Isabelle Peterson (Gardnerville, Nev.) join the UConn program this season, bring- ing a multitude of experiences and skills to Grunwald’s team. The foursome make-up the Class of 2021, a recruiting class that earned UConn volleyball a “Highest Honorable Mention” selection on prepvolleyball.com. BACK TO WORK Redshirt sophomore Kayla Williams is coming off a breakout season in 2016, earning a nod to the All-Conference Second Team at the conclusion of the year. Williams, an outside hitter from Staten Island, N.Y., led the Huskies in kills (392), service aces (28), digs (332), and points (439) - finishing seventh in the conference in kills per set (3.47). TOUGH ROAD AHEAD Heading into the 2017 slate, the Huskies know they will face stiff competition - including nine opponents that finished in the NCAA RPI Top 100. UConn will play 15 matches against teams that ended 2016 in the RPI Top 100, with 13 of them coming against league opponents. Four teams - SMU, Wichita State, Cincinnati and Temple - all finished in the top 50 of the RPI. Five teams (New Hampshire, Wichita State, SMU, Princeton and Cincinnati) also qualified for the NCAA Tournament. SENIOR LEADERSHIP Tosin Adeniyi, Danielle Cabel and Kenya Cason provide senior experience to a relatively young roster, which consists of four freshmen, one redshirt freshman, two sophomores and four juniors. The trio accounted for 39.7% of kills and 88.5% of blocks for UConn in 2016. 5 TOSIN ADENIYI Middle Blocker | Senior | 6-2 13 Springfield, Ill.| Chatham-Glenwood 2016 Season: Started in all 31 matches in her junior sea- son … recorded a team-high hitting percentage of .349, which was good for third in the American Athletic Confer- ence … her 194 kills were fourth-most on the team, while her 81 total blocks were a team-best … named to the Dog Pound Challenge All-Tournament Team on Sept. 10 … four matches with double-digit kills, while matching