Sept. 17, 2009
By Stephanie Hayes
UCFAthletics.com
A record-number 1,603 fans, along with the UCF marching band and cheerleaders, packed the UCF venue Tuesday night to witness the second year of VolleyBowl. This relatively new tradition at UCF is one which is quickly gaining in popularity and is on its way to becoming an event the student body will look forward to attending year after year.
With an atmosphere that could not be rivaled and a crowd that roared with applause after every kill and every successful play, VolleyBowl II proved to be an exciting night for all in attendance. This fan support did not go unnoticed by the team.
According to senior outside hitter, Erin Campbell, the crowd has everything to do with how the team performs.
"Sometimes we start off a little slow," she said, "and its comforting to know that you have all of those people that are watching you and supporting you and want you to succeed. That's something that we don't take for granted at all and we hope will continue throughout the years."
Head coach Todd Dagenais shares the same sentiment. In reference to fan support, he says, "It is the number one most critical non-volleyball thing. When we get the band support and we get the fan support from the students, it's like having a seventh person on the floor for us. Having students here can make the difference between us winning and losing matches."
In a closely contested match against in-state opponent USF, the Knights came up short in a 3-0 loss. However, this number does not accurately or fully reflect the intensity that each set delivered. With scores of 25-23 in all three sets, there was very little that separated UCF from a win.
"If you think about it, the difference between winning and losing is one point each game," said coach Dagenais. "24-24. Now you have a chance to win. The margin of error tonight was one swing. We took 119 swings. One play, one call, one swing, one dig, one block made all the difference tonight. It is unbelievable to be in a match where one thing decides every one of the three games. It can be argued that's about as even as two teams can be. It just so happened we were on the wrong end of the one thing every time."
Though the outcome of the match was perhaps less than desired, the team's performance was strong and the traditions being established through VolleyBowl will hopefully prove to carry on with the team for years to come.
Sophomore Sara Rex spoke on the effects the tradition will have on the UCF volleyball program going forward. "Hopefully it will jumpstart our fan base for each year," she said. "Fans can come out, get excited about what we're doing and continue to come for the rest of the semester. That would be the biggest thing."
One thing is for sure. VolleyBowl provides a unique opportunity for UCF students and fans to be exposed to an exciting sport that may not have been on their radar previously.
Going forward, the UCF volleyball program has many lofty goals for the season, but they are absolutely attainable for a team who went from being ranked 250th in the nation two years ago to 113th in 2008, establishing the nation's top turnaround of last year. For the 2009 season, the team is looking to be ranked in the top 75 nationally, the top four in-conference and to compete in the NCAA tournament.
Coach Dagenais also spoke on the team's approach to accomplishing this. "You have to put yourself in position at the right time to win that critical match," he said. "That's what we're going to do. What matters is being in the position in November to go to the NCAA tournament by winning a conference championship. We think a 20 win season and a 75 RPI will come as a result of our philosophy."
The next opportunity for fans to witness the UCF volleyball program in action is when they take on C-USA opponent Southern Miss this Friday, Sept. 18, at the Radisson-UCF Classic, again hosted in The Venue at UCF. Set to begin at 1 p.m., this match, and those that follow, will put on display the dynamic athleticism of the UCF volleyball team, a reason in and of itself that fans should make their way out to support the program.