Oct. 27, 2005
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ORLANDO - The UCF volleyball team returns to the road this weekend, facing UAB and Memphis in Conference USA play. The Golden Knights (5-13, 3-8 C-USA) play UAB on Friday evening at 8 p.m. Eastern and then visit Memphis for a 2 p.m. Eastern contest on Sunday.
UCF will be playing the last contests of a four-match road swing. The Golden Knights met both the Blazers and Tigers at home earlier in the year.
ABOUT UCF The Golden Knights return to action after snapping an eight-match losing skid on Sunday with a 3-2 (30-27, 25-30, 30-24, 29-31, 16-14) win versus Tulane in College Station, Texas. The Green Wave led 9-5 in the fifth game, but the Golden Knights closed the game with an 11-5 run. Junior setter Leah Alexander recorded a career-high 60 assists in the victory. Freshman libero Lindsay Randazzo totaled a match-high 20 digs.
Head coach Meg Colado is in her seventh season at UCF. She has a 131-95 (.580) overall coaching mark and is 116-79 (.595) with the Golden Knights.
ABOUT UAB (13-6, 5-4 C-USA) UAB has dropped two consecutive contests, including a 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-26) match at Tulsa on Sunday. Isabel Oquendo and Casey Dent each had 10 kills against the Golden Hurricane, while Nevena Stefanov added 37 assists. Ivana Bozic is averaging a team-high 4.42 kills per game, which ranks sixth in Conference USA. The Blazers are coached by Nikola Petrovic and Ali Magner, who are both serving as co-interim head coaches this year.
UCF AGAINST THE BLAZERS UCF holds a 4-1 edge in the all-time series. On Sept. 30, the Golden Knights rallied for a 3-1 (28-30, 30-24, 31-29, 30-28) victory in Orlando. Junior outside hitter Maina Heming (17 kills and 11 digs) and sophomore outside hitter Lorin Lukas (16 kills and 12 digs) both registered double-doubles. Lukas hit .433 for the match. Junior setter Leah Alexander added 46 assists for UCF. Isabel Oquendo led UAB with 16 kills and 13 digs. Nevena Stefanov had 44 assists.
ABOUT MEMPHIS (14-11, 5-3 C-USA) Memphis breezed past visiting Ole Miss on Wednesday, recording a 3-0 (30-28, 30-27, 30-21) win. Shelby Burton and Melissa Nance each had 13 kills. Laura Cote totaled 44 assists. Nancy Nellans leads the Tigers, averaging 3.55 kills per game, while her 3.64 digs per game is also tops on the team. Memphis hosts Southern Miss on Friday evening. Head coach Carrie Yerty is in her 10th year at Memphis and has a 181-149 overall mark.
UCF AGAINST THE TIGERS Memphis leads the all-time series against UCF, 4-3. The squads met at UCF on Oct. 2 and the Tigers took a 3-1 (30-26, 16-30, 30-27, 30-28) victory. Sophomore Lorin Lukas posted a double-double in the loss with 10 kills and 10 digs and junior outside hitter Maina Heming totaled 15 kills. Junior setter Leah Alexander led UCF with 46 assists. Ashley Liford recorded 23 kills for the Tigers. Nancy Nellans had a double-double with 18 kills and 11 digs. Laura Cote recorded a match-high 66 assists.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING Sophomore outside hitter Schanell Neiderworder has posted double-doubles in four consecutive matches. Against Tulane on Oct. 23, she totaled 14 kills and added 10 digs. Neiderworder started the streak with 21 kills and 16 assists against Houston on Oct. 16. During the four-match span, she has also recorded 22 total blocks. On the year, Neiderworder has registered five double-doubles.
A TRUE BLOCK PARTY Three Golden Knights rank among the conference leaders in total blocks per game. Junior middle blocker Jana Mitchell is seventh (1.03), sophomore outside hitter Schanell Neiderworder (1.02) ranks eighth and freshman middle blocker Jenny Heppert (1.00) is ninth in the league.
ACE MACHINE Freshman middle blocker Jenny Heppert is among the nation's leaders in service aces per game. She is averaging 0.57 aces per game, which ranks 26th nationally and second among Conference USA players.
STRONG SHOWING Junior outside hitter Maina Heming recorded a career-high 22 kills at Tulane on Oct. 23. Against the Green Wave, Heming hit .462 for the match and also added a career-best three service aces. The junior college transfer paces the Golden Knights, averaging 3.10 kills per game.
ON DECK The Golden Knights host East Carolina on Nov. 4... On Oct. 7, the host Pirates recorded a 3-0 (30-16, 30-23, 30-25) victory over UCF. Maina Heming led the visitors with 10 kills. Kim Clonan posted 20 assists and Lindsay Randazzo recorded 14 digs. East Carolina hit .333 as a team for the match, compared to just .171 for UCF. Pam Ferris paced the Pirates with 20 kills. Heidi Krug recorded a double-double in the victory with 46 assists and 13 digs... The all-time series is tied with each team winning one contest.