Aug. 27, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The highly-anticipated sophomore campaign of head coach Todd Dagenais and his UCF volleyball team gets underway Friday when the Knights host the Radisson-UCF Invitational at The Venue at UCF.
The Black and Gold will kick-off the tournament with matches against in-state rivals Jacksonville at 1 p.m. and North Florida at 6 p.m., before wrapping up the event on Saturday against Florida Atlantic at 1 p.m. and DePaul at 7:30 p.m.
Along with free admission to the event, UCF students will also be able to pick up their `Block Party' student-section t-shirts at any of the UCF matches, along with the 2009 UCF volleyball poster and schedule card.
Parking for all fans is free of charge when using Garage F, located just behind The Venue.
The Knights look to improve on what was a turn-around season in Dagenais' first year at the helm, when they finished with a 15-17 record, their best mark since 2003 and matched its best Conference USA win total with a 6-10 league record. UCF also jumped 131 spots on the final NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI from 244 in 2007 to 113 in 2008.
A 2009 Preseason All-C-USA selection, senior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) is UCF's top returning starter from last season. Heading into her final season with the squad, the outside hitter needs only 151 more digs and 189 more kills to reach 1,000 in her career in both categories. Also, if Campbell can reach 300 digs for the third-straight season, she would end up ranked at least fifth on the Knights' all-time chart, while a repeat-performance of 400 kills would also place her at least fifth all-time at UCF in kills.
UCF is 39-14 in the all-time series with the Dolphins and hold a 2-1 advantage when playing against the Ospreys. The Knights have won 26 matches and only lost eight times when facing-off with the Owls and will compete against the Blue Devils for the first time in program history this weekend.
Season tickets for the upcoming season are on sale now for only $30, with the Knights hosting 16 regular-season matches at The Venue at UCF throughout the year.
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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