Sept. 25, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) became only the fourth Knight in program-history to register both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs Friday evening as the UCF volleyball team fell to Conference USA-foe East Carolina, 3-1 (21-25, 21-25, 25-17, 17-25) at Minges Coliseum.
"It was a night of history for Erin and I am very proud of her," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "She put herself up on the wall with all of the great players that have been a part of UCF volleyball history."
The Black and Gold drop to 8-7 on the season and 0-2 in league play with the loss to ECU, while the home team improved to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in C-USA action.
"I was extremely proud of the effort that we put forth tonight," Dagenais said. "Even though the result on the scoreboard wasn't what we planned for, I thought this was the most heart and the most desire that we have played with in a few weeks. I feel like we have turned a corner in that area."
Heading into the match with the Pirates, Campbell needed only eight kills and 20 digs to put her name in the UCF record books. The outside hitter did that and more Friday, registering her sixth double-double of the year with 18 kills and 20 digs, while adding three block solos to pace UCF on the floor.
"I thought Erin got back into a rhythm attacking again tonight," Dagenais said. "That is very positive for us as we start to get players back. Down the road I think having that outside hitter is going to be really important."
Fellow outside hitter Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) and setter Andee Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) also posted double-doubles for the visiting Knights, with Fisher tallying 12 kills and 10 digs and Youngblood recording 35 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) added 12 kills and two block assists.
Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) had 20 digs in the match for her 12th-consecutive contest with a double-digit dig performance.
Making her first collegiate start for the Black and Gold against the Pirates was sophomore Katie Riley (Merritt Island, Fla.), who contributed two digs and a block assist. Also seeing significant playing time for the first time in her career was freshman setter Jennifer Belew (St. Louis, Mo.), who led the Knights on a run in the fourth set with a career-high five assists.
"I thought Jen did a really nice job when she came in the fourth set to lead us to a pretty significant run," Dagenais said. "I also thought that Katie did a very admirable job in her first collegiate start. That is by far the most playing time that she has recieved and I thought that she did a very nice job for us."
UCF's back was against the wall after dropping the first two sets, but they fought their way back into the match with a convincing 25-17 win in the third. Fisher started the set off with a kill to put the Knights on top right from the beginning and the squad would never lose its lead. The Black and Gold held as much as a nine-point advantage twice during the set and did not allow the Pirates within more than three points of the lead.
The momentum from the third set did not carry over into the fourth for the Knights though as East Carolina would go on to win the set and the match with a 25-17 victory.
UCF is back in action Sunday when it takes on Marshall in front of a national audience. The match, which is set to get underway at 2 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center, will air on tape delay on CBS College Sports on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.
Season tickets for the 2009 season are still available for only $30, with the Knights hosting eight more regular-season matches at The Venue at UCF this 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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