June 16, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - First-year UCF head volleyball coach Todd Dagenais announced the Knights' 2008 schedule Monday, and his squad will play 10 matches at the newly renovated UCF Arena this season. UCF is entering its fourth campaign as a member of Conference USA this fall.
Dagenais and the Knights will make their home debut in the renovated UCF Arena on Sept. 2 when they face Stanford at 7 p.m. The Cardinal finished the 2007 season with a 32-3 record and advanced to its 13th NCAA Championship match, concluding the year with a No. 2 ranking.
Dagenais says the match will be an historic opportunity for the Knights. "We are going to have the highest ranked team to play at UCF when the six-time national champions come in. We scheduled this for a very specific reason. We wanted to show that we are not afraid to play anybody," Dagenais said. "It's a tremendous honor to have Stanford come play us on our home court. We said we wanted to open with a bang, and this is a great way to do it."
Besides Stanford, UCF will play two additional teams that participated in the NCAA Championship in 2007, with both matches being played on the road. "The schedule is really exciting for us," Dagenais said. "It gives us a lot of tests to check our progress as a team and as a program." The Knights will face Oregon in the first round of the Kansas University Tournament on Sept. 5, serving as a homecoming for senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.).
The Black and Gold will also go head-to-head with C-USA Champion Tulsa on Sept. 28 during its C-USA opening weekend. "My goal is to play a top-five team every year and play half our schedule against NCAA Tournament-type teams," Dagenais said.
The Knights begin their season on Aug. 29, facing in-state rival Jacksonville at the Georgia Southern Tournament in Statesboro, Ga. In addition to playing the Dolphins, the Black and Gold will also face host Georgia Southern and Presbyterian at the event. "Our opening weekend at Georgia Southern will be a chance for us to... spend quality time together as a team," Dagenais said. "It will... give us an opportunity right away to figure out all the things that we need to work on against live opponents."
After hosting its first match of the season, UCF hits the road again for three-consecutive away tournaments in September, participating in the Kansas University Tournament Sept. 5-6, the Florida International Tournament Sept. 12-13 and the Southern Miss Tournament Sept. 18-20.
Dagenais maintains the trip to Lawrence will be important for two reasons. "First, we get a chance to play three NCAA Tournament level teams. Kansas plays in [the Big 12], a big-time conference, and has had NCAA success. Utah Valley State won the NCAA Independent Championship last year, and Oregon is viewed as one of the most improved programs in this decade and plays in the best conference in the country," Dagenais said. "Second, it allows us to get Jenny Heppert to play in her hometown in front of her family and friends, and it allows us to have Erin Campbell play nearby to her hometown of Kansas City. Anytime we can get good competition and bring a player close to her hometown, we are going to do it."
The Knights open C-USA action on Sept. 26 at SMU, before hosting four-straight league matches against Marshall (Oct. 3), East Carolina (Oct. 5), Memphis (Oct. 10) and UAB (Oct. 12) at the beginning of October. UCF will also face the quartet of teams on the road in the latter part of the schedule, while only seeing SMU, Tulsa, Houston, Rice, Tulane, UTEP and Southern Miss once during the season.
UCF concludes its regular-season slate on Nov. 15 when it hosts Southern Miss at 7 p.m., before traveling to Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 20-23 for the C-USA Championship hosted by Memphis.
Six letterwinners return from last year's squad, while Dagenais will welcome 11 newcomers to the program.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics.