Sept. 12, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team will be looking for its fifth-straight win when it travels to Tampa for the USF Best Western Invitational, Sept. 13-14. The Knights will open the two-day event Thursday against host and in-state rival USF at 7 p.m. On Friday, the Black and Gold play Texas A&M - Corpus Christi at noon, before closing the tournament against George Mason at 5 p.m.
The Knights enter the tournament with a 6-4 record after capturing the UCF Invitational title last weekend. The Black and Gold were a perfect 4-0 at the event registering wins over North Florida, FAU, Central Michigan and Montana State. UCF is off to its best start since 2003, when the team posted an 8-3 record in its first 11 matches.
UCF Invitational MVP Jenny Heppert and all-tournament team selection Stephanie Serna paced UCF to four-straight wins last weekend at the old UCF Arena. Heppert recorded 47 kills, 29 total blocks and 13 service aces for the Black and Gold, while Serna added a team-high 63 kills and .423 attacking percentage.
Three Knights posted double-doubles in the victory over Montana State Saturday afternoon, with Heppert getting 15 kills and 10 total blocks and Erin Campbell adding 18 kills and 26 digs. Freshman setter Blaire Brueggemeyer totaled 68 assists and 14 digs en route her first career double-double.
Host USF enters the event with a 5-1 record after winning the Wright State Raider Challenge with a perfect 3-0 record, getting wins over Liberty, The Citadel and Wright State. Marcela Gurgel was named the tournament MVP, while teammates Kristina Fabris and Stephanie Augustavo were both awarded with all-tournament team honors. The Knights are 23-41 all-time against the Bulls, with UCF downing USF, 3-0, last season at the UCF Arena.
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi enters the tournament with a 3-6 record following a 1-3 performance at the Islander Holiday Inn - Emerald Beach Invitational last weekend. The Islanders secured a 3-0 win over Texas Pan-American in the final match of the event, getting a record-setting performance from Jordan Wagner, who tied her school single-match record with 27 kills. The Knights and the Islanders will meet for the first time on Friday.
Last weekend, George Mason took second place at the Pitt Invitational with a 2-1 record. The Patriots' only loss of the tournament came at the hands of the host Pitt, while George Mason secured two-straight wins over Buffalo and UAB to close the event. Jaqueline Kohler and Rebecca Walter were both named to the all-tournament team for the second weekend in a row after recording double-doubles in the final match of the tournament. The Knights hold a 2-0 advantage over the Patriots, with UCF winning, 3-1, in the teams' last meeting in 1999.
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