Nov. 14, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team will honor its two seniors, Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) and Stephanie Serna (San Antonio, Texas), Saturday night in its final regular-season match of 2008 when it hosts Southern Miss for Senior Night at The Venue at UCF at 7 p.m. The Knights enter the contest with a 14-15 record on the season and a 6-9 Conference USA mark.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (16-12, 6-9 C-USA)
The Golden Eagles venture to The Venue at UCF Saturday with a 16-12 record on the season and are tied for seventh place in C-USA standings with the Knights with a 6-9 league mark. Southern Miss has won three of its last four conference matches, which includes wins over UTEP, Marshall and East Carolina. Leading the way for the Golden Eagles is Angela Hlavaty, who is averaging 2.48 kills per set for Southern Miss' offense. Defensively, Lauren Sears is producing 1.05 blocks per set for the Golden Eagles.
Against Southern Miss...
The Knights hold a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, defeating Southern Miss on the road earlier this season in straight sets. As a team, the Knights totaled 47 kills in that match, while committing only nine errors. In the first set, the Black and Gold hit .306, before improving to .393 in the second set. In the third and final set, the Knights hit .444, its best mark of the night. Erin Campbell led UCF with 15 kills, while Stephanie Serna hit .579 with 12 kills.
31 and Counting
One of UCF's all-time leading blockers, senior Jenny Heppert has posted at least one block in 31-consecutive contests heading into Saturday's contest against Southern Miss, dating back to last season. Heppert started the streak on Sunday, Nov. 9, after totaling 4.0 total blocks against Southern Miss and extended the streak after posting two blocks at Marshall last Friday.
Making History
With one more win in 2008, the Knights will surpass their season win total from both 2007 and 2006 combined. In 2006, the Black and Gold finished the season with a 5-24 overall record, while ending the year with a 9-23 record in 2007. With 14 wins already this season, UCF has tied the mark and has put together its most wins in a single season since 2003. That season, the Knights went 23-7, took home the Atlantic Sun Championship title and went on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Putting It Down
Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.), Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) and Serna will all finish the 2008 season with more than 300 kills, as the trio carry 370, 345 and 326 kills, respectively, for the Knights' offense heading into their last regular-season match Saturday. The last time UCF had a threesome with 300+ kills in a season was in 2003. That year, the trio of Emily Watts, Tanya Jarvis and Amanda Stoutjesdyk totaled 417, 381 and 349 kills, respectively.
Tournament Time
With a win on Saturday, the Knights will become the No. 7 seed heading into the Conference USA Volleyball Championship beginning Nov. 20. But, if the Black and Gold fall to the Golden Eagles, UCF could end up as low as the No. 9 seed depending on the outcome of the SMU @ Tulsa match on Sunday. If SMU gets a win against the Golden Hurricane, the Mustangs and the Knights will hold the same 6-10 C-USA record. Since SMU defeated UCF earlier this season, the Mustangs would get the higher seed. But if both SMU and the Knights lose, UCF will be the No. 8 seed.
Set Me Up
Junior Erin Campbell needs only 38 more attempts to surpass former teammate Schanell Neiderworder for the No. 7 spot on the UCF Individual Career register. Campbell currently holds the No. 8 spot on the chart with 2,538 career attempts, while Neiderworder totaled 2,575 attempts from 2004-07.
One More For No. 4
With her block solo against Marshall last Friday, Jenny Heppert tied Emily Queisser for the No. 5 spot on the Knights' all-time record chart with 54 in her career. If Heppert can manage to get one more solo block Saturday or during the C-USA Championship, the senior will secure the No. 4 spot behind Emily Bridson.
Hitting for Percentage
The Knights' .196 attack percentage this season is the team's best mark since 2005 when they put together a .199 team attack percentage. If UCF can bump up its total to .200 or better, it will become the squad's highest percentage since 2003, when UCF hit .220 as a team.
Future's So Bright
For the second-consecutive year, middle blocker Jenny Heppert was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with a spot on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team. The senior holds a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average and is expected to graduate in the spring with a degree in biology. The senior has played all 28 matches in 2008 and leads the team in attack percentage (.331), block assists (82), blocks per set (0.81), service aces (27) and service aces per set (0.24).
Making Strides in the League
The Knights currently sit in a tie for its most wins in Conference USA since joining the league in 2005. In the inaugural season in C-USA, the Black and Gold posted a 6-10 league-mark. The Knights currently hold a 6-9 record in conference matches and need only one more win to become the UCF volleyball's winningest team in C-USA competition.
The UCF volleyball team will honor its two seniors, Heppert and Serna, in its final home match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 15, when it hosts Southern Miss at The Venue at UCF at 7 p.m. 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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