April 16, 2010
By Erin Campbell
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After months spent training indoors, the UCF volleyball team is set to travel to Siesta Key Beach for the second year in a row to participate in the Fiesta on the Siesta Beach Volleyball Tournament Saturday. All of the beach volleyball action is set to get underway at 10 a.m.
The squad has spent the last week training on the beach courts preparing for the weekend. Assistant coach Erik Peterson and volunteer assistant coach Tyler Adams have been running the outdoor practices. Together, this duo has many years of beach experience and head coach Todd Dagenais was excited for the team to learn from their time spent on the beach court.
"We are excited because this gives Erik and Tyler a great opportunity to lend their expertise in the outdoor game," Dagenais said. "Both of them are knowledgeable on the nuances of beach volleyball and the team is picking up on their training very well. Erik will serve as the head coach for the event and this weekend will give him a chance to display his coaching leadership."
The Fiesta on the Siesta will host 58 pairs from colleges around the country, with one of the Black and Gold's top beach pairs, Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) and Sara Rex (Tampa, Fla.), looking to improve on their silver-medal performance from last year.
"Sarah and Kristin made an exciting run to medal last year and we are looking for even bigger things out of this partnership this year," Dagenais said.
Another beach pair looking to dominate the day is the retired senior Andee Youngblood (Castle Rock, Colo.) and newcomer Marie Reiterova (Luxembourg, Luxembourg)
"Marie is an accomplished beach player and we are really looking forward to seeing her shine in a sport she is very comfortable with," Dagenais said. "Andee is such a strong overall player and we think this is going to be a partnership that has a chance to win the event."
The Knights enter the event with some extra motivation, to avenge their second place finish in 2009. USF finished as the top overall team for the day last year. This year, the Knights are looking to dethrone the Bulls and take home the gold.
Updates and results from the day will be posted on UCFAthletics.com Sunday after the event.
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.
-UCF-