Oct. 24, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Despite getting double-digit kills from both Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) and Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia), the UCF volleyball team succumbed to Conference USA-rival Marshall, 3-0 (22-25, 22-25, 21-25), Saturday night at The Venue at UCF.
"I don't think there are many times when you lose 3-0 when you get really excited about it," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I'm just excited about how we responded to it, because that is a building block for the future and that is something we can check off the list. We lost an opportunity to win, but we put ourselves in position to be able to take advantage of our opportunities down the road because of what we did tonight."
The loss dropped the Knights' record to 11-13 on the season and 3-8 in league play, while the Thundering Herd improved to 19-5 overall and 7-3 in C-USA action.
Fisher led the Black and Gold offense with 11 kills and added six digs and a block. Vilde followed close behind with 10 kills, while hitting .360 with only one attack error.
Lauren Williams (Lake Mary, Fla.) joined in on the action for the UCF offense, hitting .231 with five kills and two blocks, while Sara Rex (Oldsmar, Fla.) contributed six kills, four digs and three blocks.
Senior Andee Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) guided the offense with 30 assists, while also posting five digs and two kills and freshman Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) posted a team-high 12 digs and dished out two assists.
"I think what we got out of this match was very important," Dagenais said. "This was the most energy, the most passion, the most enthusiasm and certainly the most effort we have put into any match all year long."
The Knights return to the court Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 when they take on C-USA rivals UAB and Memphis on the road. UCF will take on the Blazers at 8 p.m. ET, before battling the Tigers at 2 p.m. ET.
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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