Sept. 5, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Sophomore Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) posted match-highs in kills in two-straight matches to lead the UCF volleyball (3-3) team to a split on the opening day of the Jayhawk Invitational at Horejsi Family Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Kansas Friday. The Knights fell to No. 13 Oregon, 3-0 (13-25, 13-25, 19-25) in the opening match, before defeating Utah Valley State, 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 15-12), in the nightcap.
"This was another resilient win for us," head coach Todd Dagenais said following the win over the Wolverines. "It was really a case where we were able to bend but never broke."
The Knights and the Wolverines battled back and forth early in the first set, before a 5-0 run put the Black and Gold up, 17-13. Three-straight points from Utah Valley put the set at 17-16, but two kills and a service ace from Williams helped the Knights clinch the opening set, 25-19. Again, UCF and Utah Valley State exchanged leads in the second set, before tying 15-15 at mid-set. But a 10-5 run by the Knights late in the set gave them the win and the 2-0 lead in the match. The Wolverines answered back in the next two sets, tying the match 2-2 and forcing a fifth set.
The two teams were neck-and-neck for most of the deciding set, tying on eight different occasions. But, with the score even at 10-10, the Black and Gold went on a 5-2 run to clinch the match, thanks to a block assist and an assist off the bench from Renele Forde (Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago).
"We really hit a pivotal point late in the fifth set where assistant coach Sam (Shweisky) made a great coaching decision," Dagenais said. "He thought it would be a good idea for us to take out our setter (Lauren Rosenthal) and put in Renele Forde for a big block, because Utah Valley had been trying to take advantage of Rosenthal being in the front row. Renele responded with a block and an assist in two hugely critical junctures, so the switch worked extremely well. It was just a fantastic call on his part to recognize that and execute it."
Williams paced the Knights offense in the win, registering 18 kills and seven digs, while Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) and Stephanie Serna (San Antonio, Texas) both tallied 15 kills for the Knights. Lauren Rosenthal (Colorado Springs, Colo.) anchored UCF's offensive scheme, posting 53 assists for the Black and Gold.
Defensively, freshman Kathleen Curry (Geneva, Fla.) posted a team-high 18 digs in her first collegiate start, while sophomore Lauren Williams (Lake Mary, Fla.) totaled five block assists. Campbell also added two block solos and two block assists.
Earlier in the day, the Knights got a match-high 11 kills from Janine Williams despite falling in three sets (13-25, 13-25, 19-25) to No. 13 Oregon.
Williams was the only player on the floor to collect a double-digit figure in kills, while also adding four digs, two assists and a block solo. Campbell added six kills, four digs and a service ace in the Knights' effort.
With her block assist in the third set, senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) took sole possession of the no. 5 position on the UCF career block assists register, posting 243, while her four block assists against Utah Valley State pushed her into the no. 7 spot on the career total blocks register with 290.
UCF continues play in the Jayhawk Invitational Saturday, when they face host Kansas at 2 p.m. ET.
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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