Oct. 10, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Junior Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) posted her seventh double-double of the season with a match-best 19 kills and 10 digs as the UCF volleyball team swept visiting East Carolina, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21), in Conference USA action Sunday night at The Venue at UCF.
"The pair of wins over East Carolina this weekend were really important, not just for our conference record, but for the morale of the team," Fisher said following the match. "Our recent string of losses have been mentally challenging on us, but now that we have gotten these two wins we are really going to take off from here. I really, truly believe that."
The win improved the Knights' record to an even 9-9 on the season and 2-4 in league action, while the Pirates fell to 1-17 overall and 0-6 in C-USA play.
"This weekend was really important for the validation of everything we have been working on these last four weeks," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I thought that tonight our passing was outstanding. The other thing that really stands out to me was how we functioned offensively. We really put up some serious numbers in terms of kills, which we needed because East Carolina was very low error tonight."
Besides Fisher, redshirt freshman Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.) also shined offensively for the Black and Gold, hitting .643 with 11 kills. Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) contributed seven kills, while Tory McCutcheon (Milton, Ont.) and Brittanie Wallace (Austin, Texas) added five kills apiece.
"Being able to contribute to our win tonight was awesome," Riedel said. "The passing was great, the setting was awesome and I was able to get up there and swing quickly to contribute points."
Setter Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ont.) guided UCF to a .302 attack percentage with 42 assists, while also adding seven digs, two kills and a team-best three blocks.
In the back court, libero Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) was solid for the Knights, tallying a team-leading 14 digs.
Following a 3-3 tie in the opening set, the Black and Gold rattled off six-straight points to take an 8-3 lead, before topping that run with a 6-0 streak to extend its advantage to 10 points. UCF never lost its lead from then on, finishing out the set with four-consecutive points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Knights trailed only once in the second set, at 1-2, before putting together a 4-0 run to take the lead and never look back. UCF led by as many as seven points three different times during the set, with Fisher, Riedel and Crump combining for 11 of the team's 19 kills.
The third set proved to be the most challenging for the home squad, as it trailed the Pirates nine different times, including a stretch where it fell behind by three points, 11-8. A kill from Vukson evened the score at 18-18 and that is when UCF really turned it on. The squad put together a 7-3 run to close out the set and take its second-straight victory from East Carolina.
The Knights are back in action next weekend when they take on both Southern Miss and Tulane on the road in C-USA action.
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.