Sept. 5, 2009
WACO, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team concluded play at the Baylor Classic Saturday night with a 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 28-26) victory over UTSA in their third match of the tournament after falling earlier in the day to No. 24 Purdue, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 13-15).
Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas), who was playing in front of her hometown crowd, was named to the All-Tournament Team after totaling 59 digs over the course of the event, which included 49 digs in the final two matches.
Also contributing quality time on the floor for the Knights' defense Saturday was sophomore Sara Rex (Oldsmar, Fla.). The middle blocker posted 14 blocks and added eight kills, while hitting .400.
Offensively, senior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) posted two double-doubles on day two of the event, tallying 25 kills, 28 digs and six blocks. Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) also had a strong offensive showing with 19 kills, with Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) contributing 16 for the Knights.
UCF won the opening set against UTSA after trading leads with the Roadrunners through the first 30 points. A 5-0 run, capped off by a block by Campbell and Rex and an error by UTSA, put the Knights ahead, 20-15. Kills from Campbell, a kill and a service ace from Riedel and a block by Rex and Forde close out the set and gave the Black and Gold a 1-0 advantage.
The two squads were once again even through the first half of the second set. With the score even at 10-10, UTSA went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-10 lead, a deficit the Knights were not able to overcome. The Roadrunners would go on to win the set, 25-17.
The third set belonged to the Knights from the beginning as they only trailed two different times during the set. With the score even at 18-18 UCF would go on a 7-3 run, thanks to three kills from Fisher, to take the third set and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
A battle ensued in the final set, with the two squads tying 11 times throughout. Despite UTSA leading the way for the majority of the set, the Black and Gold continued to fight its way back into the set, evening the score at 21-21 after trailing for the last 14 points. From there, the two teams traded leads before kills from Riedel and Fisher gave UCF the 28-26 victory.
Campbell had 14 kills, 13 digs and five blocks against the Roadrunners, while Rex hit .500 with six kills and a career-high eight blocks to lead the Knights.
Season tickets for the 2009 season are still available for only $30, with the Knights hosting 13 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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