The UConn Fast Break - 9/5/2023

Fall sports are under way!

September 05, 2023

Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, and thank you for being a subscriber. Happy Labor Day weekend!

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UConn football drops opener

UConn football lost to NC State, but it was close into the third quarter against a solid, if not very good, ACC team. Despite the loss, UConn leaves with a lot of optimism for the rest of the season.

This very matchup, played in Raleigh last season, was a 41-10 decision that was arguably over early in the second quarter as NC State started 31-0.

This year, it was different. The Huskies scored first, kept it within three until two minutes left in the third quarter, and had chances to make it a game in the fourth. UConn’s offensive line was getting off the ground and creating some space.

This improvement on the field, combined with the 36,000 strong at Rentschler Field, and not necessarily in the win/loss column, is enough to show encouragement for the rest of 2023. UConn gets Georgia State and FIU, two of the lowest-rated teams in FBS, over the next two weeks.

Weekly Rewind

Football

Season-opening loss - The Huskies kept it close all evening, but fell to NC State, 24-14, on Thursday. | Photos

Football Podcast - The crew spent nearly an hour looking at the season’s first depth chart and previewing NC State.

Women’s Basketball

Bueckers changed after injuries - How UConn’s star guard had to become a better version of herself after a litany of knee injuries.

Men’s Hockey

Tyler Helton promoted to associate head coach - UConn hasn’t had an associate head coach since Joe Periera departed for Boston University, his alma mater.

Women’s Soccer

Photos - The Huskies snagged another clean sheet with a 2-0 win over New Hampshire.

Volleyball

Photos - UConn suffered a defeat to Hofstra on Friday, but rebounded with a victory over Merrimack the following day to open the UConn Volleyball Center.

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Highlights

It was never going to be anything else.

Victor Rosa took it 71 yards to the house to bring UConn’s deficit to NC State back to three points late in the third quarter. It was one of two strong touchdown runs for the Bristol product who finished with 99 yards on the day.

Memory Lane

Attendance at the Rent on Thursday was the highest it had been since the 2013 game against Michigan, and it was the largest attendance for a UConn home opener since 2010 against Texas Southern.

On that day, UConn started an eventual rollercoaster of a season by demolishing Texas Southern, 62-3, behind 151 rushing yards by Jordan Todman.

Here’s ESPN’s game recap and some highlights for that day below.

UConn, Great Pic

Some shots by our photographer Ian Bethune from the Thursday Night Football in East Hartford.

Parting Thoughts

UConn christened the UConn Volleyball Center on Friday night. After years of playing inside Gampel Pavilion, sharing with the basketball programs, the Husky volleyball team has a home of its own, as the athletic department has started to retrofit the former Freitas Ice Forum into a volleyball facility.

There is only room for a small number of fans on bleachers, as removing the icemaking and other hockey-specific equipment meant a temporary set-up was required to begin competition this fall, but the space will eventually have chairback seats, according to renderings posted by the athletic department, in addition to three practice courts.

Not only is this change a great way to extend the life of the building and reduce waste for relatively cheap, as the project was approved at $2.5 million and is expected to be funded by donations, but also helps give volleyball a leg up. The Huskies had to get creative when practicing inside Gampel Pavilion, this new setup makes practice and game scheduling a lot easier.

The volleyball program was one of the only field and court sports still sharing a facility. Women’s lacrosse takes over Morrone Stadium in the spring while men’s and women’s soccer occupy it during the fall, which presents few logistical hurdles due to the practice space around the athletic district.

Over the past decade-plus, from the construction Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center, which opened in 2014, to the new UConn Volleyball Center, the university has made great strides in new facilities for nearly all of its programs, making a great investment in teams and coaches that had already done a lot with a little. Volleyball is the latest beneficiary.

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