Nov. 7, 2005
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ORLANDO - The UCF volleyball team will take a break from its Conference USA schedule on Tuesday, hosting North Florida for a non-league match at UCF Arena. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
UCF enters the match with a 7-15 overall record. The Ospreys (16-9) will be playing on the road after four consecutive contests at home.
Tickets for the contest are available at UCF Arena. UCF students with a valid school ID are admitted free.
Fans attending the match should park on the third, fourth and fifth floors of the Convocation Center Housing garage next to the arena.
The contest will be aired live on www.UCFathletics.com as part of the "Golden Knights All-Access" package. UCF student broadcasters will call all of the action. Pre-match coverage is slated for 6:30 p.m.
ABOUT UCF Last time out, the Golden Knights dropped a 3-0 (30-17, 30-26, 30-21) Conference USA match to visiting Marshall on Sunday. UCF started the match slowly, hitting just .065 as a team in the first game, compared to .500 for the Thundering Herd. Senior middle blocker Chaz Arah and junior middle blocker Jana Mitchell both totaled nine kills and four total blocks in the losing effort. Against North Florida, UCF will be playing a non-league match for the first time since Sept. 17, when the team faced USF in Tampa.
Head coach Meg Colado is in her seventh season at UCF. She has a 133-97 (.578) overall coaching mark and is 118-81 (.593) with the Golden Knights.
ABOUT NORTH FLORIDA The Ospreys have won two consecutive contests and have won 13 of their last 16 matches. On Saturday, North Florida rallied for a 3-1 (23-30, 30-16, 30-25, 30-27) Atlantic Sun win over Belmont in Jacksonville. Emily Kohler totaled 13 kills and seven blocks against the Bruins. On the year, Kohler leads the team in kills per game (3.10) and digs per game (2.74). Heather Kendrick had 46 assists in the win and is averaging 12.13 assists per game in 2005. In 2005, North Florida is 5-3 on the road. Head coach Bryan Bunn is in his sixth year with the Ospreys and has a 159-40 record at North Florida. In his 12th season overall, Bunn is 330-106.
UCF AGAINST THE OSPREYS UCF and North Florida are meeting for the first time on the court. The Ospreys are in their first season at the Division I level and are a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. In 2005, the Golden Knights have already faced one team from its former league, dropping a 3-1 contest at Jacksonville on Aug. 31. On Nov. 13, the Golden Knights will host another A-Sun opponent, Florida Atlantic.
MITCHELL IN THE MIDDLE Junior middle blocker Jana Mitchell has 77 block assists on the year and is on pace to finish 2005 with one of the top single-season totals in school history. Current teammate Chaz Arah currently sits in 10th on the UCF single-season register with 82 block assists recorded in 2002. Mitchell is already eighth on UCF's career list with 186 block assists. Her 218 total blocks are good for ninth all-time. Arah is ahead of Mitchell on both career lists. She has 197 blocks assists (eighth) and 225 total blocks (seventh).
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.
CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP Rice will host the 2005 Conference USA Tournament in Houston, Texas from Nov. 17-20. The winner earns the league's bid to the NCAA Championship. All 12 conference teams will participate in the event.
ON DECK UCF concludes the 2005 Conference USA regular season on Friday, visiting Southern Miss for a 7 p.m. match in Hattiesburg... The Golden Knights lead the all-time series, 3-0. The teams have never met at Southern Miss... On Sept. 27, UCF won its inaugural C-USA match against the Golden Eagles, 3-1 (27-30, 30-20, 30-19, 30-19) at home. Junior outside hitter Maina Heming had a double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs. Junior setter Leah Alexander posted 42 assists in the win. Junior middle blocker Jana Mitchell totaled a career-high .722 hitting percentage and finished with 13 kills and four total blocks and sophomore outside hitter Schanell Neiderworder added 13 kills and eight digs. Ashley Petrinec led Southern Miss with 19 kills and 11 digs. Stevi Cherry finished with 14 kills and Ednali Serralta dished out 41 assists.