Nov. 3, 2011
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By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - Behind a season-high 15 total blocks, the UCF volleyball team claimed the first of two matches with Memphis, 3-1, Thursday night at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Knights (16-9, 8-6) guaranteed their first winning record since 2003.
"I thought that this really was a game of errors, and I don't think either team got comfortable. It was a weird match, but I thought that we executed well enough to win," Dagenais said. "I thought we did some things really well too. Having 15 blocks in four sets is something we aren't accustomed to doing so well, but we did a really nice job of leading to get those blocks."
Both middle blockers Tory McCutcheon (Milton, Ontario) and DeLaina Sarden (Lawrenceville, Ga.) were menaces up front, swatting seven shots each on the night. Freshman Ashley Gialenios (Johns Creek, Ga.) also joined in on the block party, sending back four attacks.
"I thought Ashley was unbelievable blocking tonight," Dagenais said about the rookie. "We gave her the assignment of going up against Marija Jovanovic who is their all-conference right-side hitter. She did a fantastic job on her."
The first set featured an offensive showcase by the Knights' front row as junior Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia), sophomore Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) and Sarden combined for five kills each. All tied at 24-24, UCF closed out the stanza on a Sarden kill and block assist by the middle blocker and fellow rookie Gialenios. Senior setter Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) dished out 14 helpers in the frame to guide the Knights' offense to a .393 attack percentage.
In the second set, the freshman duo of Sarden and Gialenios picked up where the left off in the first. The Knights went on a 5-0 run while Gialenios was at the service line, and Sarden picked up a kill and block solo during the streak. Gialenios finished the frame with three blocks, and Sarden with two more kills and four blocked shots. Overall, UCF swatted eight attacks in the set and limited the Tiger offense to just -.056.
After dropping the third, 25-22, UCF would fire back in the forth to claim the set and match, 25-20. Tallying eight of her team-high 21 kills, the fourth stanza belonged to Crump. The sensational sophomore notched her seventh 20-plus kill performance and hit .333 for the match. Vukson dished out 13 of her 43 assists, and completed her 13th double-double of the season with 11 digs.
UCF ended the night hitting .258 while limiting Memphis to a .205 attack percentage. The Knights out-dug the Tigers (15-12, 4-10) 54-52 as junior libero Meredith Murphy (Austin, Texas) led the way with 13.
The two squads will meet Friday night once again at 8 p.m.