UConn volleyball to play on the road at Syracuse and Marquette

With a chance to clinch a trip to the Big East Tournament at stake this weekend, the UConn women’s volleyball team will be in Wisconsin today to play Marquette and will then play at Syracuse on Sunday.

The Huskies (16-10, 7-4 Big East) are riding a four-game winning streak and are currently in a tie for fourth place with Cincinnati in the Big East standings. Both teams are two games ahead of St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova, who hold the final three tournament positions. Therefore, the Huskies could need as little as one victory this weekend to secure a berth in the conference tournament later this month.

Today’s opponent, Marquette (21-4 overall), has already secured a spot in the tournament, sitting in a three-way tie for first with No. 12 Louisville and Notre Dame, at 10-1 in the conference. Despite their impressive record, the Golden Eagles find themselves on the outside of the Top 25 rankings, finishing 28th in voting this past week.

Marquette has shown complacency against teams in the middle and bottom of the standings this season. South Florida, Rutgers and Seton Hall have all taken Marquette to five sets this year. Notre Dame also took the Golden Eagles to five sets and Louisville defeated them in four.

Last time Marquette played the Huskies, they handed UConn a 3-1 defeat. But if the Huskies continue playing the gritty and determined game they have been playing, they can pull off a sensational upset.

After today’s match, the Huskies will head to New York to take on Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. The Orange (10-16) have struggled to a miserable 2-9 record in conference play, and sit in 14th in the Big East standings. This season has been quite a different one than the 2011 season for the Orange, who defeated UConn 3-0 last year en route to an 8-6 conference mark.

After Sunday, the Huskies have two regular season games left: next Wednesday at Georgetown and next Friday against USF.