STORRS, Conn. – In their final weekend of non-conference action, the Red Foxes got swept by UConn, but the loss marks a positive turning point for Marist.
While junior outside hitter Sara Dasic led the team in kills, the most notable name in the box score for Marist was Claire Lewis. The graduate student setter played in her first match since Nov. 17, 2023, Marist’s crushing five-set loss to Iona in a MAAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup.
“I never thought it would come,” Lewis said, in reference to her return to the court after two separate injuries to her right knee kept her out all of 2024 and the beginning of the 2025 season. “I had so much fun, even though we didn’t come out the way we wanted to.”
Lewis is the only remaining Red Fox from the 10 that took the floor in their upset loss 673 days ago, where she recorded 63 assists, the fifth most in a match in Marist history.
“I’ve never played with any of these girls before,” Lewis laughed. “I feel like we’re still a family because I’ve been around all this time.”
“It’s basically like week one for her,” added head coach Sean Byron. “I thought she did a good job.”
On Saturday, Lewis finished with 10 assists and a kill. More importantly, her return allowed Marist to run a 6-2 on offense with Lewis and freshman Caelyn Dumas as the setters – something Byron has looked forward to since practices began in early August.
Rejuvenated by their captain’s return, the Red Foxes took a 6-4 lead in Lewis’ three back row rotations to open the first. They rode the momentum to a 10-6 lead, but the Huskies ultimately settled in to overtake the lead midway through the set. They never gave it back, as junior outside hitter Grace Maria’s four kills helped UConn win, 25-21.
Sloppy serving plagued both sides in the first set, as Marist made four service errors. Though the Huskies missed six serves themselves, they countered with five aces.
UConn landed multiple aces and caused tons of out-of-system passes on short serves that left the Red Foxes lunging, while senior outside hitter Emma Werkmeister scored two aces off of her high-speed topspin serve.
Marist stayed within striking distance in the second, only trailing by three or four points for the majority of the set, but never got any closer than that after the early going; a 6-1 Huskies run ended the set, 25-17.
The UConn block showed up in a big way, recording four blocks in the second set alone. Marist struggled to find the Huskies’ side of the floor, recording as many kills as attack errors, with seven of each.
Following a strong start by the Red Foxes in the third, thanks to two early kills from Dasic that pushed Marist to a 6-5 lead, UConn rattled off five straight points to prompt a Byron timeout. The break in action proved to be in vain; the Huskies kept Marist at bay, running away to win the match after their 25-15 victory in the third set.
Senior outside hitter Hanna Tylska landed back-to-back aces to end the match, pushing the Huskies’ total on the day to 10.
On the other side of the net, Marist only managed to score 23 kills in the match, doing so on a paltry .096 hitting percentage.
The Red Foxes wrap up their weekend in Storrs on Sunday at 12 p.m. Their early afternoon matchup against Brown marks Marist’s last non-conference game before MAAC play starts on Sept. 26.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo from Marist Athletics
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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