Sept. 17, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF (6-5, 0-0 C-USA) volleyball team opens Conference USA play Thursday at 8 p.m. ET against Southern Miss to kick-off the Southern Miss La Quinta Inn Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss., this weekend. Besides the Golden Eagles, the Knights will also face McNeese State and North Texas at the event.
Schedule:
Thursday
Southern Miss* - 8 p.m. ET
Friday
McNeese State - 4:30 p.m. ET
Saturday
North Texas - 10:30 a.m. ET
Records:
UCF - 6-6, 0-0 Conference USA
Southern Miss - 7-3, 0-0 Conference USA
McNeese State - 3-3, 0-0 Southland
North Texas - 1-7, 0-0 Sun Belt
Arena:
Reed Green Coliseum
Series:
The series between the Knights and the Golden Eagles is tied at 3-3
The series between the Knights and the Cowgirls is tied at 1-1
UCF leads the all-time series vs. North Texas, 1-0
Live Stats:
www.UCFAthletics.com
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (7-3, 0-0 C-USA)
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday's contest with a 7-3 overall record on the season, which included a seven-match winning-streak to open the 2008 campaign, the team's best start in program history. Southern Miss suffered all three of its loses last weekend at the USD Tournament, falling to Texas A&M, host San Diego and Cal State Fullerton. The Golden Eagles are led offensively by Stevi Cherry, who boasts a 2.82 kills-per-set average and .242 hitting percentage. Defensively, Southern Miss is paced by Maia Ivanova's 3.47 digs-per-set average and Lauren Sears' 42 total blocks. The Knights are 3-3 all-time when facing the Golden Eagles.
McNeese State Cowgirls (3-3, 0-0 Southland)
The Cowgirls enter the Southern Miss Invitational with a 3-3 record on the season after defeating teams such as Mississippi State, Grambling and Alabama A&M. McNeese State is led offensively by Chanel Tyler, who is averaging 2.86 kills per set and Jennifer Cook, who is hitting .244 on the year. On the defensive side of the ball, Nicole Bowden and Sarah Cartie have combined for 29 total blocks, while Cartie leads the team with a 2.86 digs-per-set average. The Knights are 1-1 all-time when facing the Cowgirls.
North Texas Mean Green (1-7, 0-0 Sun Belt)
The Mean Green have gotten off to a slow start in 2007, entering this weekend's tournament with a 1-7 record, posting its only win over Jackson State at the Mean Green Classic in late August. North Texas has faced two opponents that the Knights defeated earlier in the season, falling to both Oral Roberts and Utah Valley in straight sets. Roxana Casvean paces the Mean Green offense with 80 kills and 10 service aces, while Sarah Willey leads the defense with 71 digs. The Knights hold a 1-0 advantage over the Mean Green in the all-time series.
You're a Big Star
Two Knights played their way onto the FIU Invitational All-Tournament Team last weekend, the first time this season that UCF placed two players on a squad. Lauren Rosenthal (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Stephanie Serna (San Antonio, Texas) helped lead the Knights to a 2-1 record at the event and to two-straight sweeps on the final day of the competition.
Set Em Up...
Rosenthal posted a team-high 64 assists and added a .286 hitting percentage, six block assists and two service aces at the FIU Invitational. During the week, Rosenthal helped the Knights register their two highest hitting percentage marks of the season. In the sweep over Bethune-Cookman, the sophomore posted 35 assists, leading the offense to a .376 hitting percentage total, its highest of the season. Rosenthal's efficient setting against the Quakers helped UCF hit .354 as a team, its second-highest hitting-percentage mark in 2008.
...To Knock Em Down
Serna posted a match-high 12 kills and a team-high .455 hitting percentage in the victory over Oral Roberts. Later in the day, Serna recorded 10 kills and registered career-highs in both hitting percentage (.556) and assists (6) to help the Black and Gold to its second sweep of the day against Penn. On the day, the right-side hitter committed only two attack errors, which included a flawless performance against the Quakers in which she did not make an error. Serna averaged 2.82 kills per set and 2.95 points per set on the week.
First of the Season
The Knights and the Golden Eagles will play in their first Conference USA match-up of the season Thursday when they meet in Hattiesburg, Miss. at 8 p.m. ET. The Sept. 18th match is the second-earliest C-USA event for the Knights since joining the league and the third time in four years that they have opened the league-schedule against Southern Miss. In 2005, UCF opened its first year in C-USA against the Golden Eagles, posting a 3-1 victory at home. The following season, the Black and Gold opened the league-schedule against Southern Miss once again on Sept. 15 - it's earliest-played C-USA match. UCF earned another 3-1 victory as the visiting team. The Knights played their first conference match against Houston last season, the only time the Knights haven't opened the league-slate against Southern Miss.
Saturday Sweep
UCF dominated the final day of the FIU Invitational last weekend, posting straight-sweeps over Oral Roberts and Penn to take home runner-up honors at the event. On the day, the Knights outhit their opponents .261 to .189 and averaged 16.33 kills per set, compared to just a combined 12.17 kills per set for both the Golden Eagles and the Quakers. It was the first time the Knights swept back-to-back opponents since 2005, when they won two-consecutive three-set matches against North Dakota State and Bethune-Cookman.
Lucky No. 7
Senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) needs only seven total blocks to surpass former teammate Jana Mitchell for the No. 4 spot on the UCF career-register. Mitchell totaled 307 total blocks from 2003-06, and Heppert has posted 301 since joining the squad in 2005. The middle blocker also has a shot at breaking into the UCF all-time top-five in block solos, needed only five more to tie Emily Queisser's No. 5-mark of 54 solo blocks earned from 1992-95. After posting two block solos last week, Heppert currently sits at 49 for her career.
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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