Aug. 29, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team used a .333 hitting percentage in the fifth set, with only two errors, to earn a hard-fought, 3-2 (25-15, 25-23, 13-25, 27-29, 15-7), victory over in-state rival Jacksonville Friday night at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University. The win marks the first for first-year head coach Todd Dagenais, the first for the Black and Gold in 2008 and the first of three matches in the Georgia Southern Holiday Inn Invitational.
The Knights went on a 15-3 run in the middle of the first set to spark the team to a convincing 25-15 win, before holding on to down Jacksonville in the second set, 25-23 behind six kills and an .857 hitting percentage from junior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.). Attack errors plagued UCF in the third and fourth sets, with the Dolphins outhitting the squad .379-.111 and .208-.058, respectively, to tie the match at two sets apiece.
Dagenais' young squad maintained its composure in the deciding set, making only two errors on its way to a 15-7 win.
"I thought that this was a really hard-fought battle," Dagenais said. "It took a lot of dramatic turns during the match. I thought both teams did a really nice job of adjusting. When we got to the fifth set, it was really nice to see the calmness and the energy on our sideline despite dropping the third and fourth sets. Everyone was calm and confident and knew exactly what they needed to do. We work on 15-point sets almost everyday in practice, and it really showed because we only had two errors in set five. I'm very proud of the team, proud of how they handled the adversity and how they dug a little bit deeper to succeed."
UCF had three players post double-doubles in the win, with Campbell pacing the offense with a career-high 22 kills and an additional 13 digs, while fellow junior Andrea Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) also registered a double-double after dishing out 35 assists and picking up 12 digs. In her first match as a Knight, Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) registered her first double-double with 14 kills to go along with 11 digs.
Defensively, the Black and Gold totaled 18 team blocks, including eight in the 25-15 first set. Sophomore Lauren Williams (Lake Mary, Fla.) led the blocking attack with seven block assists and a block solo, while senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) added six block assists and one block solo.
"I thought that (Jacksonville) really did a great job of changing their offensive attack patterns after the first set," Dagenais stated. "We blocked them eight times the first set so they did a nice job of changing that."
Heppert and sophomore Kristen Petrasic (Carrollton, Texas) both added their names to the UCF record books in the match. With her two service aces, Heppert claimed the ninth position on the career register with 114, while Petrasic's 31 digs in the match gave her sole possession of fifth on the individual match register.
Seven of the Knights' 10 newcomers saw action in the season-opener, all playing critical roles in UCF's first win of the 2008 season.
"Melissa Reinders (Winter Park, Fla.) and Kathleen Curry (Geneva, Fla.) both played huge defensive roles for us tonight," Dagenais said. "That was definitely critical in our win."
The Knights host the six-time national champion Stanford Sept. 2 at The Venue at UCF at 7 p.m. The first 1,000 students to arrive at the event will be guaranteed a ticket for the UCF vs. USF football game on Sept. 6. Season tickets for UCF's 2008 volleyball campaign at The Venue are currently available by calling the UCF athletics ticket office at 407-UCF-1000. For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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