Oct. 30, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF (11-14, 3-9 C-USA) volleyball team had four different players register double-digit kills Friday night, but it was not enough as the squad fell to Conference USA-foe UAB, 3-1 (23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 22-15), on the road at Bartow Arena.
"It is another frustrating night when you out-hit, out-serve and out-pass your opponent, but you don't win," head coach Todd Dagenais said following the match. "This is the second time this year that we have done that against UAB where we have not come away with a win, and I think our inexperience cost us at critical points in the match."
Senior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) paced the Knights with 15 kills and added 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while junior Lauren Williams (Lake Mary, Fla.) followed close behind with 12 kills and a .435 attack percentage. Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) and Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) rounded-out the Black and Gold offensive attack with 11 kills apiece. Fisher added 14 digs for her seventh double-double of 2009, while Vilde contributed three blocks.
"Heading into this match we didn't know what our lineup was going to be," Dagenais said. "But, we decided right after warmups that as long as Erin was 50 percent we were going to let her play and she put together one of the gutsiest performances that we could imagine.
"Our athletic-training staff did a fantastic job of getting Erin ready to at least step onto the floor and compete. She was not close to 100 percent, but three days ago she was under 25 percent, so the fact that they got her to 50 percent today was really good."
Senior setter Andee Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) dished out 49 assists in the contest, while adding six digs and two service aces.
"Andee Youngblood did the best job all year, I think, at distributing the ball and spreading it around," Dagenais said. "I thought that we were very unpredictable. We averaged 15 kill per set in the match, which is enough to win any match in the conference on any night."
Freshman Tory McCutcheon (Milton, Ontario) led UCF with four blocks and also hit a team-best .438 with nine kills and two digs.
"Both of our middles (Williams and McCutcheon) were terrific tonight," Dagenais said. "We made it a point to set them more in this match and they had a high level of success. Tory McCutcheon really, really had a breakthrough match for us. It was probably one of the best matches she has had since early in the year, both hitting and blocking."
Aiding McCutcheon on the defensive side of the net were Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) and Kristen Petrasic (Carrollton, Texas), who totaled 22 and 21 digs, respectively.
After dropping the first two sets of the match to the Blazers (13-13, 6-5 C-USA), the Knights recouped in the third to take a win from the home team. After evening the score 2-2 to begin the set, the Black and Gold went on a 5-0 run, paced by two kills and a solo block from Campbell, to take a 10-4 lead. UCF continued to extend its lead with kills from McCutcheon and Williams, before posting its largest advantage of the set, 15-7. UAB would pull within four points of the Knights late in the game, but a 4-0 run from UCF would guide the team to the third-set win. As a team, the Knights hit .324 with 16 kills and committed only four errors in the set.
The two squads would go back and forth through the first 20 points of the fourth set, before UCF finally broke away with a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. The Blazers forced their way back into the set with a 2-0 run and a 3-0 run to even the score once again, 17-17, and the two teams would once again trade points before matching up at 20-20. UAB would come out on the winning end of the battle, however, after going on a 5-2 run to close out the set and take the match.
The Knights continue their C-USA roadtrip Sunday when they take on Memphis at 2 p.m. ET at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
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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