Oct. 26, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UCFAthletics.com) - Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) paced both the UCF offense and defense with 12 kills and seven digs, despite the volleyball team falling to Conference USA's top-ranked UAB, 3-0 (16-25, 13-25, 20-25), Sunday afternoon at the Bartow Arena.
With the loss, the Knights fell to 13-12 on the season and 5-6 in league play, while the Blazers improved to 20-3 overall and 10-1 in league matches to keep its spot atop the conference standings.
The Knights kept the opening set close through the first 16 points, trailing by only for points, 10-6. A 7-2 run extended UAB's lead, 17-8, but the Black and Gold were not about to give up. Back-to-back kills from Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) and Campbell and an error by the Blazers closed the gap at 23-15, before a kill and a block assist from UAB's Casey Dent clinched the first set for the home team.
Errors hampered the Knights throughout the match as the visiting team was outhit, .042 to .290, and had 29 kills compared to the Blazers' 39.
In set No. 2, the Blazers rattled off eight-straight points to take an early, 8-0 lead, a margin that was too significant for the Knights to make a comeback. The home team led 23-8 toward the end of the set, before a pair of kills and a block from Lauren Williams (Lake Mary, Fla.) and two attack errors by the Blazers helped the Knights pull within 11 points, 24-13. But, a kill from UAB's Savannah Pegg ended the match and gave the Blazers a two-set lead heading into the third set.
Williams, Heppert and Stephanie Serna (San Antonio, Texas) combined for seven of the Knights' eight total blocks in the match, with Serna posting three block assists and both Williams and Heppert adding two.
UAB took another early lead in the final set, but the Knights charged back mid-way through. After trailing, 18-8, a kill from Campbell and a pair of Blazer attack errors put the Black and Gold within seven. A kill and a block assist from Serna closed the gap even more, before a service ace by setter Lauren Rosenthal (Colorado Springs, Colo.) put UCF right back in the game at 24-20. But, a UCF hitting miscue ended the match and gave UAB the three-set victory.
Serna tallied six kills in the defeat, while Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) and Lauren Williams each added four. For only the eighth time this season, Serna failed to register double-digits in kills, breaking the 15-match streak she held from Sept. 13-Oct. 24.
Defensively, both Rosenthal and libero Kathleen Curry (Geneva, Fla.) posted seven digs to match Campbell for the team-high.
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.
Short Box Score (Match)
UCF vs. UAB (Oct 26, 2008 at Birmingham, Ala.)
UAB def. UCF 25-16, 25-13, 25-20
UCF (13-12 (5-6)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Campbell, Erin 12-0-1; SERNA,
Stephanie 6-0-3; Williams, Lauren 4-0-2; Williams, Janine 4-0-0;
Heppert, Jenny 3-0-2; Rosenthal, Lauren 0-1-0; Totals 29-1-4.0.
(Assists) - Rosenthal, Lauren 21. (Dig leaders) - Rosenthal, Lauren 7;
Campbell, Erin 7
UAB (20-3 (10-1)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - BOZIC, Ivana 13-0-3; DENT,
Casey 11-2-6; LALIC, Andrea 7-0-2; DOMINGOS, Lilly 4-0-3; PEGG,
Savannah 2-0-0; PANIAGUA, Patty 1-0-0; MCDONALD, Jordan 1-0-0;
FOREMAN, Emily 0-1-0; STEFANOV, Nevena 0-2-5; Totals 39-5-11.0.
(Assists) - STEFANOV, Nevena 36. (Dig leaders) - THOMAS, Heather 12;
VUJOVIC, Aleksandra 7
Site: Birmingham, Ala. (Bartow Arena)
Date: Oct 26, 2008 Attend: 273 Time: 2:14
Referees: Apple Kridakorn, Kevin O'Brien
-UCF-