Sept. 3, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
WILMINGTON, N.C. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team improved to 4-0 on the season, while also winning its 12th-consecutive set, after defeating UNC Wilmington, 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-17), in its opening match of the UNC Wilmington/Courtyard by Marriott Tournament Friday night.
"As we look back on that match, we all feel very fortunate that we were able to come out on top," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "Not all 3-0 matches are alike. This was one of those matches where we certainly didn't play as well as we wanted to and Wilmington played far better than they played on video, but that is what you expect when you play the home team. Fortunately, we settled down in the latter parts of each set and I believe it was our mental toughness and our togetherness after 20 points that allowed us to be in the position to win."
Junior Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) led all players with 17 kills, while sophomore Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) shined for the Knights' offense with 14 kills and a .524 attack percentage.
"Evija was outstanding tonight," Dagenais said. "She mixed her shots and kept Wilmington off balance. I thought that Kristin took way too many swings tonight and we need to find a way to get our middles more involved in our offense, and we need to find it tonight. But Kristin absolutely held our team together when we needed it the most."
One middle blocker that produced for the Black and Gold was Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.). The redshirt freshman hit a team-best .556 with five kills and two block assists. Fellow redshirt freshman Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) added four kills and a pair of block solos.
As a team, the Knights outhit the Seahawks 41 kills to 26 and scored 52.0 points to UNCW's 37.0.
Defensively, Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) posted a match-high 11 digs and extended her streak of double-digit outings to 14 matches. Fisher and sophomore Dani Harrison (Tallahassee, Fla.) each contributed six digs to the defensive effort.
In the opening set, the Knights made a thrilling comeback after trailing by as many a seven points midway through the set to take a 1-0 lead. The two squads played neck-and-neck in set No. 2, before a Seahawk error and a kill from Vilde broke the 25-25 deadlock and gave the Knights a two-set advantage. The Knights stepped up their game in the third set, hitting .357 with 15 kills to cruise to a 25-17 win and seal the victory.
"We are still a really young team and we make a lot of mistakes that young teams make, but I am proud of the fact that this team is able to find a way to play at their best when it matters the most."
UCF continues play in the tournament Saturday with its opening set of the day scheduled for 1 p.m. against UNC Greensboro. The Spartans enter the contest with a 6-0 record on the season after defeating South Carolina State earlier in the day in straight sets.
The Knights will conclude the tournament against South Carolina State Saturday at 5 p.m.
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.