Sept. 11, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Following a solid all-around performance against Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, the UCF volleyball team kicks-off its eight-match roadswing against host FIU at the FIU Invitational Friday at 7 p.m. The Knights (4-4) will also play Oral Roberts and Penn on Saturday during the tournament at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
Schedule:
Friday
FIU - 7 p.m.
Saturday
Oral Roberts - 11 a.m.
Pennsylvania - 5 p.m.
Records:
UCF - 4-4, 0-0 Conference USA
FIU - 6-1, 0-0 Sun Belt
Oral Roberts - 5-2, 0-0 Summit League
Pennsylvania - 1-1, 0-0 Ivy League
Arena:
FIU Arena (5,000)
Series:
UCF leads FIU, 28-18
Oral Roberts leads UCF, 1-3
UCF leads Penn, 1-0
Live Stats:
www.UCFAthletics.com
FIU Golden Panthers (6-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Florida International will be hosting the Florida International Invitational over the weekend. The Golden Panthers enter the tournament with a 4-1 record with wins against Clemson and Syracuse. FIU suffered their first loss on Saturday, Sept. 6 to Iowa State at the Middle Tennessee Invitational.
UCF holds a 28-18 lead against the Golden Panthers. The last time the two former A-Sun foes met was in 2006, where the Knights hosted FIU, but lost 3-0 (30-12, 30-28, 30-25).
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (5-2, 0-0 Summit League)
Oral Roberts has competed in two tournaments winning the Sun Bowl Invitational at UTEP and finished second at the Oral Roberts Classic. The Golden Eagles have defeated UTEP, Butler and Tulsa. Senior Jackie Oliveira leads FIU in kills with 72 and is second with 19 total blocks. Senior libero Carol Garbato leads the team on defense with 67 digs.
The Knights will be facing the Golden Eagles for the fourth time. Oral Roberts leads the series 3-1 with the last matchup back in 1997 at the ORU Showdown Classic. The Golden Eagles won 3-1 (17-19, 15-10, 15-13, 15-13).
Pennsylvania Quakers (1-1, 0-0 Ivy League)
Penn defeated Fairfield and lost to Bowling Green when the Quakers opened the season on Friday, Sept. 5. Julia Swanson leads the Quakers with 26 kills and is second on the team with 12 digs.
UCF has won the only previous meeting with Penn back in 1997. The Knights faced the Quakers in the Army Invitational defeating them in straight sets (15-7, 15-3, 15-12)
Little Bit of History
Back in 1997, UCF also played Penn and Oral Roberts in back-to-back matches, but the feat was split between two different tournaments. The Knights defeated Penn 3-0 in the finale of the Army Invitational and Oral Roberts defeated UCF in the opening match of the ORU Showdown Classic.
Heading In the Right Direction
With a 4-4 record on the season through its first eight matches, UCF is off to its best start since the 2003 season. That year, the Knights held a 5-3 record through its first eight contests and went on to win the Atlantic Sun Championship and make its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Moving Up a Block at a Time
With her four total blocks against Bethune-Cookman, Jenny Heppert took sole possession of the No. 5 spot on the UCF individual career register, totaling 295 total blocks since her arrival in 2005.
Williams Has a Career-Night
In Wednesday's home match against in-state rival Bethune-Cookman, sophomore Lauren Williams hit a career-high .769 with 10 kills to lead the Knights to its fourth victory of the season. Her attack-percentage mark in the match ranks fifth all-time for UCF in a single match and is the highest for the team this year.
Just Helping Out the Team
Middle blocker Jenny Heppert put up big numbers for the Knights on Wednesday, posting 10 kills, a .600 hitting percentage, four total blocks and three service aces. Heppert recorded all three of her service aces in the third set, where she rattled off 12-straight points to put the Black and Gold ahead, 13-1, where the Knights eventually won the deciding set, 25-9. The margin of victory for UCF in set three was the largest it has posted all season.
Put Me In Coach
All 16 Knights saw action in the Knights' victory over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 10, with freshman Sara Rex, redshirt freshman Erin Callahan and freshman Katie Riley all registering their first collegiate kill. Also recording a first for UCF was freshman Katie Duggan who had the first two digs of her career.
Big Numbers
As a team, the Knights hit a season-high .376 against the Wildcats, with five players hitting over .500 in the match. The squad was led by Lauren Williams' .769 attack percentage, with Jenny Heppert's .600 and Erin Campbell's .414 percentages following close behind.
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.
-UCF-