Hartford Volleyball Digital Game Program Nov. 11-12 vs. Chicago State

2022 SCHEDULE

FRI. 8/26 ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN* L, 0-3 SAT. 8/27 MERRIMACK* L, 1-3 SAT. 8/27 AT NEW HAMPSHIRE* L, 0-3

FRI. 9/2 AT DELAWARE STATE*+ L, 0-3

FRI. 9/2 QUINNIPIAC*+ L, 1-3 SAT. 9/3 AT DELAWARE STATE*+ L, 0-3 WED. 9/7 AT BOSTON COLLEGE L, 0-3

FRI. 9/9 LEHIGH^ L, 0-3 SAT. 9/10 SIENA^ L, 0-3 SAT. 9/10 AT DARTMOUTH L, 0-3 TUE. 9/13 AT CENTRAL CONN. L, 0-3 SAT. 9/17 AT LIU L, 0-3 SAT. 9/17 AT LIU L, 0-3 TUE. 9/20 AT BRYANT L, 0-3 FRI. 9/23 AT NJIT L, 0-3 WED. 9/28 STONEHILL W, 3-2 SUN. 10/2 AT SACRED HEART L, 0-3

FRI. 10/7 SMITH COLLEGE L, 0-3 THUR. 10/13 EASTERN CONN. W, 3-1 SAT. 10/15 AIC L, 0-3 TUE. 10/18 NJIT L, 0-3 SAT. 10/22 AT STONEHILL L, 1-3

FRI. 10/28 AT AIC L, 1-3 WED. 11/2 BRYANT L, 0-3

TODAY’S MATCH

The Hawks are back in action on Friday and Saturday as they welcome Chicago State to the Hartford Volleyball Gym. Saturday will also serve as Hartford’s senior day where the Hawks will honor Lika Nkenchor, Sara Gasparotto and Greta De Gasper. First serve between the Hawks and Cougars is set for 6 p.m.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Friday and Saturday mark the first two meetings all-time between the Hawks and Cougars. Hartford enters the pair of weekend contests with a 2-4 record at home, while Chicago State enters with a 2-11 record on the road. The Hawks last win at home came against Eastern Conn. on Oct. 13, when they took down the Warriors 3-1. The Cougars last victory on the road came in a 3-1 win at Hofstra on Oct. 30.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

After a solid start to the season Chicago State has hit a rough patch, losing seven of its past eight games. Of those seven losses, five have been shutouts. The Cougars’ last victory came in a 3-1 win at Hofstra on Oct. 30. Chicago State enters the weekend match-ups with a 2-11 record on the road. Redshirt junior Yanlis Feliz is the Cougars’ biggest threat on attack, owning a team-best 326 kills this season. Her production more than doubles Chicago State’s No. 2 option, junior outside hitter

Whitney Barnes who has 158 kills. Graduate student Jaclyn Inclan (374 assists) and Yunju Lee (348 assists) have produce near-identical numbers from the setter position. Libero Andrea Calderon leads the team with 301 digs (4.01 per set). Junior middle blocker Mesalina Severino has posted a team-best 62 blocks, followed closely by Julieta Sanchez (57) and Berenice Almeyda (52).

SENIOR LEADERS

Senior outside hitter Greta De Gasper leads the Hawks across the board in every category, tallying 176 kills, 15 service aces and 218 digs. Senior setter Lika Nkenchor paces Hartford distributing a team-best 256 assists, while ranking second on the team with 14 service aces. Senior middle blocker Sara Gasparotto has been a force at the net, securing a team-high and career-high mark of 49.0 blocks at the net.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford fell in straight sets, 3-0, against Bryant on Nov. 2. Gasparotto and freshman outside hitter Isabella Labrada teamed up for two blocks during the match. Labrada also contributed five kills and one dig. Junior outside hitter Uzezi Ijoma led the team with eight kills, while also adding two digs. Nkenchor served the Hawks’ lone ace of the match while also leading the team with nine assists and five digs.

VINH

ALEX

MEGAN ANDERSON

2 Rutten, Fabienne 61 24-0 0 0.00 1 5 -.200 9 0.15 73 .123 1 0.02 5 28 .821 3 Nkenchor, Lika 76 24-13 49 0.64 30 183 .104 261 3.43 1088 .240 14 0.18 27 219 .877 6 Luchs, Sydney 63 23-13 22 0.35 25 102 -.029 2 0.03 22 .091 0 0.00 1 3 .667

Ijoma, Uzezi 79 24-20 172 2.18 124 537 .089 6 0.08 60 .100 10 0.13 18 170 .894 8 Gonzalez, Giovanna 4 4-1 0 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0.00 0 .000 0 0.00 0 2 1.000 10 Connally, Kylee 79 24-11 4 0.05 1 35 .086 257 3.25 891 .288 11 0.14 24 203 .882 11 Thomas, Lindzi 77 24-17 76 0.99 67 290 .031 22 0.29 104 .212 7 0.09 18 197 .909

MEET THE COACHES

Entering his fourth season as head coach of the Hartford volleyball team in 2021, Vinh Nguyen has transformed the Hawks into a winning program. Under the brief tutelage of Nguyen — who became the 11th head coach in the 44-year history of the program in February 2018 — the Hawks have become a potent threat in the America East Conference.

In just his second season at the helm, Nguyen and the Hawks were on the doorstep of claiming the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Earning the program’s first victory in the 2019 America East Tournament with an upset win over No. 2 New Hampshire, Hartford, which posted the most wins since the 2014 campaign, fought top-seeded UAlbany down to the wire in the title match, but fell just short of earning the league’s coveted automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament in five sets.

That postseason run was an historic one for Hartford for several reasons, as it also marked the first time in program history that the Hawks qualified for the America East Tournament in back-to-back seasons. In his debut season at Hartford in 2018, Nguyen led the Hawks back to the conference tournament for the first time since 1996, ending a 22-year postseason drought for the program. Hartford also made a fivewin improvement that season, posting 11 victories in 2018.

VINH NGUYEN

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• America East Conference runners up in 2018

• Three All-Conference Performer’s in 2021

• Six America East All-Academic Team members

• One CoSIDA Academic AllAmerican

• Coached North Texas to its best record in program history at 29-3

• 18 plus winning seasons at Cal Poly Pomona, capped off with 24-3 mark in 2005

• USA Men’s National Team coaching staff member in 2007

ASSISTANT COACHES

Hannah Stinson

First Season (Puget Sound ‘18) Megan Anderson Third Season (Hartford ‘19) Alex Lucero

First Season (Hartford ‘21)