Oct. 6, 2005
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ORLANDO - The UCF volleyball team hits the road for a pair of Conference USA matches this weekend, visiting East Carolina and Marshall. The Golden Knights (4-7, 2-2) play East Carolina (9-6, 1-2) on Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Greenville, N.C. The squad concludes the road trip on Sunday with a 1 p.m. match in Huntington, W.Va. against Marshall (11-4, 3-0).
ABOUT UCF In its last outing, UCF dropped a 3-1 (19-30, 32-30, 30-27, 30-23) contest at SMU on Tuesday. Maina Heming and Schanell Neiderworder both recorded double-doubles in the loss. Heming had 15 kills and 12 digs, while Neiderworder posted 14 kills and 22 digs. Leah Alexander posted a career-high 49 assists and Lindsay Randazzo had a career-best 33 digs.
Head coach Meg Colado is in her seventh season at UCF. She has a 130-89 (.594) overall coaching mark and is 115-73 (.612) with the Golden Knights.
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA East Carolina has won six of its last eight contests. On Tuesday, the Pirates beat host UNC-Wilmington, 3-0 (30-25, 30-15, 30-22). Pam Ferris recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs. As a team, the Pirates hit .376 for the match.
UCF AGAINST THE PIRATES UCF will be facing East Carolina for only the second time on the court. In 1979, UCF played East Carolina at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational in Richmond, Ky. The Golden Knights, who were on their way to a 54-5 season, won the match, 2-0 (15-4, 15-4). A year ago, UCF played a pair of Atlantic Sun matches in North Carolina, posting victories over Campbell and Gardner-Webb.
ABOUT MARSHALL The Thundering Herd are currently ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Midwest Region poll. Marshall has won four straight matches and hosts Southern Miss on Friday. Katie Stein leads all C-USA players, averaging 14.18 assists per game. Preseason conference player of the year Kelly-Anne Billingy's 5.63 kills per game also lead the league.
UCF AGAINST THE THUNDERING HERD The Golden Knights will be playing Marshall for just the second time. In the previous meeting in 1992, UCF claimed a 3-0 (15-8, 15-2, 15-9) victory at the Kansas Invitational in Lawrence, Kan.
SCHEDULE ISSUES Both of UCF's home matches that were postponed due to Hurricane Rita have been rescheduled. UCF will face Tulsa on Oct. 18 at the UCF Arena. That match was originally slated for Sept. 25 at the Education Gym. The squad's home match with Florida Atlantic will be played on Nov. 13.
BLOCK IT OUT At SMU on Tuesday, Jana Mitchell recorded four block solos, one of the best performances in UCF history. The four solo blocks tie Mitchell for sixth on the school's single-match register.
SERVING ACE Jenny Heppert leads UCF on the year with 21 service aces. Her 0.75 service aces per game is good for first in C-USA. At USF on Sept. 16, she posted six aces, tying the fourth best single-match showing in UCF history.
HEMING SEES DOUBLE Maina Heming has recorded double-doubles in five of UCF's last seven matches. On the year, she leads UCF, averaging 3.24 kills per game. Three of her four double-doubles have come during C-USA play. Lorin Lukas has two double-doubles on the season while Schanell Neiderworder has recorded one.
HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT Prior to each UCF home match, school officials will collect donations to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. All donations will be given to the United Way and directed to those in need following the storm. Members of the volleyball team also collected donations prior to UCF's football game with Marshall on Sept. 24 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. UCF head coach Meg Colado is a New Orleans native and freshman libero Lindsay Randazzo hails from Metairie, La.
ON DECK After three consecutive matches away from home, the Golden Knights return to Orlando to host Rice for a league match on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m... The schools will be meeting for the fourth time and the all-time series is tied, 2-2. In Orlando, each team has claimed one victory... A year ago, the teams played in Baton Rouge, La. in a tournament that was originally scheduled for Orlando, but was moved because of Hurricane Frances. The Owls claimed the match, 3-0 (30-15, 30-19, 30-25). Tanya Jarvis paced UCF with nine kills and Michelle Spaleta totaled 16 digs.