Huskies to face Bearcats in Volleyball game before First Night

The UConn volleyball team returns to Gampel Pavilion on Friday for a match against Cincinnati at 4 p.m. in front of what is expected to be a large crowd as a result of UConn Basketball First Night.

Following the Cincinnati match, the Huskies will have a day off before taking on No. 15 Louisville, the reigning Big East champions.

Friday’s match is scheduled as part of the festivities for First Night. Gampel Pavilion is expected to fill to capacity before the basketball teams take the court, meaning that the Huskies will be playing in front of a crowd that is far bigger than any home crowd they have ever had.

“We’ve never had the gym that full,” senior captain Mattison Quayle said, “so we’re pretty excited to have a crowd come out and we love playing at home, so it’s going to be a fun game.”

The Huskies, who are already two wins away from matching their total for the entire 2011 season, are in good shape five matches into Big East Conference play. UConn got off to its best start in conference play since 2004 with a 2-0 start. Despite following this start with two consecutive shutout losses on the road at St. John’s and Notre Dame, the Huskies turned things around on Sunday when they defeated DePaul 3-1. Their 3-2 record has them at 6th place in the Big East, with Cincinnati just ahead of them in 5th.

“I think the team is in a good place right now,” Quayle said. “We’ve had a couple upsets but having the win to end the weekend is giving us confidence for the upcoming games this weekend.”

The Bearcats are 6-13 overall, but are 4-2 in conference play thanks in part to their schedule pitting them against five teams who are currently on the outside looking in for the conference tournament picture. Only eight of the conference’s 14 teams made the postseason tournament.

Louisville is a force to be reckoned within the Big East. The 16-3 Cardinals have also had to play mostly bottom of the table teams to start the conference season, but they are the defending conference champions and have been tested against some of the nation’s toughest teams. The Cardinals will play at St. John’s on Friday.