Aug. 9, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The 2010 UCF volleyball season officially got underway as third year head coach Todd Dagenais' Knights opened preseason camp at The Venue at UCF Monday morning.
The two-week training camp will see the Black and Gold participating in twice-daily practices, before concluding with the annual Black and Gold Scrimmage which is scheduled for Aug. 21.
"The energy has really been building to a crescendo in the past six weeks," Dagenais said. "The team has really committed themselves to being ready for this day and it definitely showed during a very spirited and enthusiastic morning practice."
The Knights will mostly be working on the intricate skills of the game in the early portions of camp, with the coaching staff focusing mostly on the teaching, but also mixing in enough playing to keep practices exciting and fresh.
UCF returns nine players from its 2009 roster this season, including juniors Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) and Sara Rex (Oldsmar, Fla.). The duo combined to post 459 kills and 99 blocks last season and will serve as the leaders of their young squad in 2010. Dagenais praised the dedication that the upperclassmen have put toward making the upcoming season one for the record books.
"All the work that our leaders have put in throughout the last eight months has really paid off," Dagenais said. "They have done everything in their power to make this a prosperous preseason camp."
Six newcomers also made their UCF debut in preseason training camp after being lauded as one of the top 100 recruiting classes in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com in June. The class includes Katie Tatum (OH - Roxboro, N.C.), Marie Reiterova (S - Luxembourg, Luxembourg), Roxy Mendez (L - Orlando, Fla.), Allison Rinderknecht (OH/MB - Jacksonville, Fla.), Kaye-Alese Green (MB - Jacksonville, Fla.) and Rachel Vukson (S - Oakville, Ontario)
The Knights open the 2010 season Aug. 27-28 at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in Ft. Myers. During the event, UCF will take on Houston Baptist, the host Eagles and Bethune-Cookman.