Oct. 27, 2010
| Conference USA Action UCF vs. UAB |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final |
| UAB | 25 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 12 | 2 |
| UCF | 16 | 25 | 28 | 23 | 15 | 3 |
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|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
| Memphis | 23 | 24 | 22 | 0 |
| UCF | 25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
Quotes from the Weekend
Head coach Todd Dagenais
On defeating UAB for the first time since 2005
"I don't think I could even articulate how pleased I am or how big of a win this is for our program. Not only does it mean that we have won four out of our last five conference matches, but now we beat another team that we had not previously beaten since I've been here."
On Sunday's victory over Memphis
"I don't care what the stats say, today we are celebrating a great win. I don't care what led to the win, we are celebrating a great win. There has been a lot of times in the last two years that I felt we had physically beaten up on teams yet lost, and I am pretty sure that Memphis feels like that. I sure liked how our players competed and I sure liked how clutch we were when it really mattered. We made some really nice plays and today, when it mattered the most, we were pretty good and that's what mattered."
On the Knights' stellar blocking against the Tigers
"I thought that our blocking was outstanding. We felt like we had a chance to have a good blocking weekend, we worked on it all week, and we did that. You look at the number of hitting errors that Memphis had and all but seven of them were because of our blocks. They made have had a lot of errors, but we sure created a lot of those errors with our blocking."
Junior Kristin Fisher
On pulling out the win against UAB in the fifth set
"It is definitely exciting to be able to do something that you work really hard on in practice. We played a lot of 15-point sets this week and to be able to come out here and execute that tonight was exciting for all of us. This match really got our adrenaline going."
Junior Rachel Vukson
On playing in front of the home crowd
"The atmosphere tonight was amazing and it made such a huge difference in the match. When we play on the road it seems like we only have our teammates behind us, but when we play at home it is so great to know that our fans are supporting us too."
Redshirt freshman Angelica Crump
On defeating Memphis in three sets
"We have been winning all of our matches lately in five sets and it was good to see that we were able to win this one in three. One of our goals was to be dominate from the beginning of the match and I think we accomplished that today."
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Having won five of its last six matches, the UCF volleyball team is definitely making some noise on the Conference USA scene. Their pair of victories over UAB and Memphis last weekend at The Venue at UCF gave the Knights sole possession of sixth place in league standings with a 5-5 record, while the squad also improved its overall mark to 12-10 on the year.
First Time Since 2005
The Knights' five-set defeat over UAB on Friday night was its first win vs. the Blazers since 2005 and was the first for UCF under the guidance of head coach Todd Dagenais. Since taking over the program, Dagenais' squad has posted wins over seven different C-USA teams in which it had not previously defeated in league action. The only two programs the skipper has yet to defeat in conference play are Houston and Rice.
One to Tie, Two for the Record
With a 5-5 C-USA record, the Knights are only one win away from matching its best record in league play since joining C-USA in 2005 and only two victories from posting its most wins ever in the conference. The squad tallied its best record, 6-10, in both its inaugural season in the league in 2005 and in Dagenais' first season as head coach in 2008.
Steadily Improving
In its last six matches, the Black and Gold has not only won five contests, but it has also been improving its numbers. The Knights have hit .220 with an average of 13.4 kills per set in its last half-dozen matches, while also averaging 12.5 assists, 15.5 digs and 2.3 blocks per set. In its previous 16 contests, UCF was hitting .205 with an average of 12.9 kills, 12.2 assists, 14.2 digs and 1.7 blocks per set.
Closing in on 10
With 829 career digs, which includes a team-best 338 digs this season, sophomore Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) needs only 32 more to break into UCF's top-10 on the all-time digs register. The libero also needs 62 more digs to register dig No. 400 for the second-straight season after tallying 491 digs as a freshman last season.
On the National Scene
Outside hitter Kristin Fisher continues to prove that she is among the nation's elite as she ranks 13th nationally in kills per set (4.47) and 18th in points per set (4.92). Also ranking in the top-100 in NCAA Division I volleyball is Rachel Vukson, who ranks 79th in assists per set (10.15), and Nichole Riedel, who ranks in at No. 91 in hitting percentage (.339). As a team, UCF ranks 81st nationally in assists per set (12.26).
League Leaders
Fisher also ranks highly amongst the Knights' league competitors following stellar performances last weekend. The junior is currently third in C-USA in both kills and points per set, while ranking second in kills per set (4.39) and third in points per set (4.80) in conference-only matches.
Middle blockers Nichole Riedel and Tory McCutcheon rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in attack percentage in league standings, while setter Rachel Vukson ranks sixth in assists per set (10.15) and libero Meredith Murphy sits at No. 8 in the rankings in digs per set (4.17).
Up Next for UCF
The Black and Gold will face its toughest test of the season this weekend when it takes on the top two teams in C-USA standings in SMU and Tulsa on the road. The team will play the Mustangs Friday night at 8 p.m. ET, before taking on the league-leading Golden Hurricane Sunday in a 2 p.m. ET, showdown.
Latest Edition of Holding Court with Todd Dagenais
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.