Aug. 17, 2011
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - In its first Black and Gold Scrimmage of the preseason, the UCF volleyball team's Black and Gold squads played to a, 2-2 (19-25, 25-20, 21-25, 28-26), tie Wednesday afternoon at The Venue at UCF. The Gold squad took the first and third sets, while Black was able to win sets two and four.
During the match, the Knights totaled 25.0 team blocks, which included a team-best nine block assists from sophomore Nichole Riedel (Denver, Colo.). The middle blocker also led the squad with a .417 attack percentage with eight kills on 13 attempts.
"We've spent a lot of time this preseason with the focus on being a brutally tough serving team and I thought that as a result the blocking numbers really shined," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "To put up 25 blocks between the two teams is pretty big. So, that was really exciting, because that is what we want to be. We want to be a tough serving team that traps you and blocks you. But, it also shows that we have a lot of work to do on our serve-receive game, and we'll get to work on that starting tomorrow. But I think by far, the positives outweigh the negatives."
Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) also had an impressive outing on both sides of the net, tallying a team-high 19 kills with six digs and five total blocks, while freshman Delaina Sarden (Lawrenceville, Ga.) added six total blocks and seven kills in her first action as a Knight.
"Delaina really surprised me today in some ways," Dagenais said. "Blocking-wise she was better today than she has ever been in practice. She is just as athletic as advertised."
Along with Crump, Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) and Ashley Gialenios (Johns Creek, Ga.) also had double-digit kills in the four-set match, posting 14 and 10 kills, respectively.
Playing for both the Black and Gold squads equally, setters Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ont.) and Marie Reiterova (Luxembourg, Luxembourg) combined for 74 assists in the contest, with Vukson dishing out 39 assists and Reiterova tolling out 35.
"I thought both setters did a nice job of running the offense," Dagenais said. "They are doing a much better job of seeing the advantages they can take and trying to find ways to score points. We are a better team if we have two really good setters."
In the back court, junior Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) led all players with 16 digs for the Black Team and fellow junior Dani Harrison (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 12 digs for Team Gold.
UCF will host its second Black and Gold Scrimmage of the fall Saturday at The Venue at UCF, with action set to get underway at 3 p.m.
The Knights open the 2011 season Aug. 26-27 when they host the Courtyard by Marriott/UCF Classic at The Venue at UCF. During the event, UCF will take on South Alabama, Michigan State and North Florida.
Season tickets are available now for only $30, which includes 18 regular-season matches at The Venue at UCF and admission to three home tournaments. Also available for purchase this season is the UCF Gold Pass. For $75, the Gold Pass grants the avid Knights fan admission to all home volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball and track & field events.