Oct. 9, 2010
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - In front of 710 loud and rowdy fans, the UCF volleyball team defeated visiting East Carolina, 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-13), Saturday evening in VolleyBowl III at The Venue at UCF. The victory over the Pirates was the first in Conference USA action for the Knights and snapped the squad's nine-match losing skid.
"I am very pleased with how our team responded tonight at home, especially after finding ourselves in a little bit of a hole in that first set," head coach Todd Dagenais said following the match. "I thought we really settled down and responded well. Our serve receive was really good tonight and I thought that was a huge factor in our ability to score points against East Carolina."
The Black and Gold now holds an 8-9 record on the season and a 1-4 league mark, while East Carolina falls to 1-16 overall and 0-5 in C-USA action.
Three Knights tallied double-digit kills in the win, with outside hitter Kristin Fisher (Clearwater, Fla.) pacing the squad with 16 kills. Middle blocker Tory McCutcheon (Milton, Ont.) hit .722 with a career-best 13 kills for the Black and Gold and fellow middle blocker Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.) added a .522 attack percentage with 10 kills and three blocks.
"It was great to be the one that was getting set and getting the kills to help the team win," McCutcheon said of her performance. "We all feel like this win was the beginning of us getting back on track toward reaching our goals and moving up in the conference standings."
Setter Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ont.) guided the UCF offense to a .299 team attack percentage with 43 assists, while also tallying 14 digs and three kills for her second double-double of the season.
"The hidden stats that nobody sees when it comes to Rachel is the leadership role that she is starting to accept now," Dagenais said. "That was something that I challenged her on when we were down at Houston and I think that was something that she had been waiting on. She just needed the reassurance that that was something she could do. I think that is a role that she is really settling into and because of that she is starting to play really well because now she is comfortable in her own skin."
Defensively, Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) totaled a team-leading 16 digs and Roxy Mendez (Orlando, Fla.) and Fisher added 11 and eight digs, respectively.
"Roxy is a gamer," Dagenais said. "She has been a winner at every level she has ever been at. She just goes out there and doesn't really seem to get fazed by anything, and she is only going to get better from here."
The Knights are back in action Sunday night when they once again face the Pirates at The Venue at UCF at 7 p.m.
Live stats and video are available for the C-USA contest Sunday via UCFAthletics.com.
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.