Sept. 18, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - Freshman setter Marie Reiterova (Luxembourg, Luxembourg) posted her first career double-double with 28 assists and 11 digs as the UCF (7-5) volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (24-26, 22-25, 24-26) loss to Belmont (6-9) Saturday afternoon in its final match of the Chattanooga Classic.
"This was such a hard weekend for us to deal with and understand, because as the game scores showed we had opportunities to win every set that we lost," head coach Todd Dagenais said following the match. "And that is something that is weighing very heavily on the players' minds. I think that it is important that when you struggle you don't get lost in how you feel. You need to go back to the basics and back to your process and try to rebuild the things that are hurting you piece-by-piece. And that is exactly what we are going to do."
Reiterova helped Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) post her 18th-consecutive match with 10 or more kills and to her fourth-straight all-tournament team selection as the junior posted a team and match-best 13 kills, while adding five digs. Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) followed closely behind with nine kills, four digs and two blocks, while adding seven kills and two blocks.
"We had some match-ups that allowed Kristin to take some extras swings," Dagenais said. "Whereas before I feel like we didn't want to set her as much as we were. I thought that today was appropriate to do so, and I thought that the setters did a nice job giving us opportunities to score."
Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.) hit a team-high .625 with five kills, two digs and a block solo and fellow redshirt freshman Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) also posted five kills, two digs and a pair of blocks.
In the opening set, the Knights held an advantage through most of the game, leading by as many as five points mid-way through. But, Belmont closed the gap late and evened the score, 22-22. The two teams traded points from there, before a kill and a UCF error at 24-24 gave the Bruins a 1-0 advantage.
The second set proved to be just the opposite of the first, as UCF trailed for a third of the contest. The squad tied the set at 10-10 following a kill from Vilde. Again, the two squads traded points until the Knights finally knotted the set once again at 16-16 and took a four point lead on multiple Belmont errors. But, once again two kills and a pair of UCF errors allowed the Bruins to go up by two sets in the match.
In the third set, the teams each traded large leads, with Belmont taking a large lead late. But, UCF did not give up easily, storming back to even the set at 23-23. The Knights took a 24-23 lead following another kill by Vilde, but a kill and two Black and Gold errors let the Bruins sweep the match.
"The good thing is that against some very good teams we put ourselves in position to win almost every single set," Dagenais said. "And we made some crucial errors at some very inopportune times. But, it comes with more experience, more game play and it comes with more quality training opportunities that we will break through."
The Knights begin Conference USA play next weekend when they travel to Huntington, W.Va., for a pair of contests against Marshall.
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.