Sept. 5, 2009
WACO, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - Behind double-doubles from Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.), Andee Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) and Renele Forde (Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago) the UCF volleyball team nearly upset No. 24 Purdue Saturday morning, but fell in a five-set heartbreaker, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 13-15), in their second match at the Baylor Classic.
"We had the opportunity to knock off one of the top-25 teams in the country this morning," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "We forced them to make plays at the end to beat us, and all we were was a little bit of execution away from winning the match. It was just inexperience and being able to do all of the right things under pressure that got us. Once we get good enough to repeat these skills under pressure, then we are going to be where we want to be."
Campbell totaled 11 kills, 15 digs and three blocks for the Knights, while Youngblood added 17 assists and 12 digs. Forde contributed 21 assists, 14 digs and six kills in the effort, despite the Black and Gold falling to 5-2 on the season.
Defensively, Sara Rex (Oldsmar, Fla.) put together another strong showing for UCF, posting a career-high six blocks, including two block solos, and Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) once again paced the Knights with 24 digs and added three assists.
After falling down 5-0 to begin the first set, the Black and Gold would come back to even the score 7-7 on four-consecutive miscues by the Boilermakers. Back-to-back kills from Campbell and Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) would give the Knights their first lead of the match, 11-9, before a 4-1 run from Purdue gave the Boilermakers back the lead and gave them the momentum to close out the set, 25-20.
Vilde finished the match with a team-best 12 kills, her highest total of the season, while hitting .171.
The Knights came out determined in the second set, taking an early 4-2 lead. An 8-2 run from Purdue set UCF back four points, but the Black and Gold continued to claw back into the set with kills from Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.), Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) and Forde to even the set, 10-10. The two squads went on to trade scores through the next 16 points, before kills from Fisher, Rex and Forde put the Knights back on top. From that point, UCF dominated the rest of the set, pulling away by as many as six points before taking the second-set victory.
Fisher was one kill away from registering her first career double-double, totaling nine kills and 11 digs, and Riedel finished the match with four kills, three blocks and two service aces for UCF.
Following intermission, Purdue would shoot out to an early lead and hold it the majority of the set. But, a kill from Fisher and two Boilermaker errors knotted the set, 13-13. Purdue would take back the lead with a trio of kills and block, but kills from Riedel and Forde once again gave UCF an even playing field, 19-19. Four-straight blocks sandwiched between two kills put the Boilermakers on a 6-0 run and gave them a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set.
In that set, UCF jumped out to an early lead and held it through the first 17 points behind kills from Vilde and Campbell. Purdue would creep back to even the set, 10-10, before taking its largest lead of the set, 15-10 following a 5-0 run. Two kills from Campbell, a kill from Vilde and a block from Rex brought the Knights back into the set, before back-to-back kills from Forde and a service ace from Murphy put UCF ahead late, 19-18. With the score locked at 21-21, two attack errors by the Boilermakers and two kills from Vilde gave the Black and Gold a hard-fought victory and sent the match into a deciding fifth set.
The Knights took a 4-2 lead to kick-off the final set, before trading points and leads with the Boilermakers. UCF took another two-point lead, 8-6, on a block by Rex and Campbell, but two kills and two UCF miscues put Purdue back on top. Campbell led the young Knights on a late charge, posting a kill and a service ace to put her team within three points of an upset victory. But, a 4-1 run from the Boilermakers stopped the UCF comeback short and gave Purdue the win.
In its final match of the weekend, UCF will take on a 2-3 UTSA squad for the first time in program history tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Roadrunners opened this weekend's tournament with a 3-0 loss to No. 24 Purdue.
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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