Hoping to set the tempo early and start the season strong, the Huskies came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 12-3 lead early in the first set against the Tigers. The Huskies would ride their momentum to win the first set, 25-13. Head coach Molly Haggerty attributed the hot start to wanting to start the game quick.

“I think every game, they definitely come out ready to play, energized and excited about us setting the tempo,” Haggerty said.

After losing the second set 20-25, the Huskies found themselves locked in a tight battle in the third and final set. The Huskies had a 13-12 lead late in the final set but soon lost it and would lose the set and game, 17-25. Haggerty said volleyball is all about mistakes and the Huskies just made too many late in the game.

“We started making errors, volleyball is a game about minimizing your errors and controlling and managing the chaos and we didn’t do that,” Haggerty said.

One player who stood out for the Huskies was senior Lauren McCarty who was the only player to go the entirety of both games without subbing out.

  “It’s very tiring and after you hit is when you are most tired so when you’re in the back you get a break but you’re still out of breath by the end of it,” McCarty said.

Having to wear masks throughout the game made playing the entire time even more difficult for McCarty.

“We couldn’t breathe at all,” Mccarty said. “I had to take it down a couple of times to catch a breather but we couldn’t breathe at all.”

With another triangular coming up, Haggerty said she hopes her team will improve their communication while also playing more to win.

“Really just raising the bar a little bit higher on the communication side of it, not being afraid to make errors, not being afraid to lose but playing to win,” Haggerty said.