Sept. 18, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - Junior Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) posted career-highs with 25 kills, five block assists and 27.5 points despite the UCF (7-4) volleyball team dropping a five-set heartbreaker, 3-2 (25-8, 25-23, 22-25, 26-28, 8-15), to host Chattanooga (4-9) Friday afternoon at the Chattanooga Classic.
The Knights jumped on the Mocs early in the first set, racing out to a 9-1 lead behind the serving of junior Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ont.). During the run Vukson tallied two service aces and Fisher and Sara Rex (Oldsmar, Fla.) registered three blocks apiece. Another impressive streak from the Black and Gold gave the squad a 15-4 advantage and forced Chattanooga to take a time out. From there, the Knights put together a 10-4 run to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Vukson dished out 54 assists in the contest, while also tallying a career-best five service aces, two kills and two blocks. Rex totaled six kills, a career-high seven digs and five block assists for the Knights.
Redshirt freshman Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) also had impressive outings for the visiting Knights. Riedel registered nine kills, three service aces, seven digs and three block assists and Vilde totaled 13 kills, six digs and two service aces.
The second set proved to be more challenging for the Black and Gold, as the teams remained neck-and-neck through the first 28 points, before the Mocs pulled ahead by two. A kill from Fisher evened the set once again, but Chattanooga posted four-straight points to take a 22-18 lead. Two blocks, two kills and a pair of Mocs errors put the Black and Gold back in the lead, 23-22. Back-to-back kills from Fisher and Rex gave UCF the set and sent the Knights into the break with a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Defensively, sophomore Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) had 31 digs for UCF, and fellow sophomore Dani Harrison (Tallahassee, Fla.) contributed a career-best 21 digs in the contest.
After dropping the third and fourth sets, UCF and Chattanooga were sent into the decisive fifth set. The Mocs took an early 6-1 lead in the final set and the Knights could not recover. They managed to pull within five points, 9-4, but Chattanooga put together a 6-4 run to close out the set and steal the match from the visiting Black and Gold.
The Knights will conclude play in the Chattanooga Classic Saturday at 4:30 p.m. vs. Belmont.
Season tickets are now available for purchase for only $30 online at UCFAthletics.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000. The Knights are set to host 13 regular-season matches at The Venue at UCF this season, which includes 10 Conference USA contests.