Sept. 14, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF volleyball team will make its 2006 Conference USA debut on the road on Friday, facing Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. First serve at the Payne Center is set for 8 p.m. Eastern.
Friday's match will mark the first time this year that the Golden Knights (3-6) have played outside the state of Florida. The squad has had six home matches, played at North Florida in Jacksonville and played a pair of contests in Gainesville as part of the Campus USA Credit Union Classic.
In its last outing on Saturday, UCF dropped a 3-1 match to Florida A&M in Gainesville. Southern Miss enters the match with a 6-6 mark.
Several Golden Knights rank among the league leaders in numerous statistical categories. Junior outside hitter Schanell Neiderworder (Aurora, Colo./Grandview HS) is 10th with 3.78 kills per game. Freshman libero Tricia Scott (Miami, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) is averaging 4.60 digs per game, good enough for fourth in the league.
The Golden Knights rank third in C-USA with a 2.23 aces per game average and a pair of players rank in the top 10 in the category. Junior outside hitter Lorin Lukas (Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs HS) is third (0.68) and sophomore middle blocker Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan./Free State HS) ranks eighth (0.47).
UCF is in its second year in C-USA. On Sept. 27, 2005, the Golden Knights topped Southern Miss (3-1) at home to claim their inaugural C-USA match. UCF also recorded a 3-0 win in November at Southern Miss.
On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles recorded a 3-1 victory at Nicholls State.
Following the contest with Southern Miss, UCF will play Troy on Saturday at noon in Hattiesburg. The Trojans (4-7) play Friday against Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin in Ruston, La. before traveling north to face the Golden Knights.
UCF and Troy are both former members of the Atlantic Sun Conference and the Golden Knights hold a 13-0 series edge. The team is 4-0 versus Troy at neutral sites.
The Golden Knights' next home contest is slated for Wednesday, Sept. 19 against USF at 7 p.m.. Admission to all UCF home matches at the UCF Arena is free courtesy of McDonald's. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.