Nov. 8, 2013
Final Stats
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFKnights.com
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team continued to shine down the home stretch of its American Athletic Conference schedule as it swept Rutgers (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) for the second time this season. The Knights (17-7, 8-3 The American) have now won four-consecutive matches, three by sweep.
Statistically, UCF overwhelmed the young Scarlet Knights, racking up 51 kills to just 28 for the hosts. The Knights also put up an elite effort along the back row, digging out 75 shots while shattering their previous season high for digs in a three-set match. The Black and Gold held Rutgers to just a .103 attack percentage for the match while hitting .219.
This is one of those matches where we got a road kill, head coach Todd Dagenais said. Sometimes you go on the road to a place for the first time and find a way to win and that's exactly what we did. We didn't have to do in sparkling fashion. We just went into a new place and earned a win. Rutgers put us in a position where we made a few more errors than we'd like. They served at us well. But I thought as the match went on, we got better and better.
Junior middle hitter DeLaina Sarden led the charge offensively with 16 kills and a .500 hit percentage. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native continues to lead The American in efficiency with a .418 mark. Sarden was backed by senior outside hitter Angelica Crump who smacked 14 kills and hit .273. The Atlanta, Ga., native has a team-best 308 kills on the year.
DeLaina Sarden really stepped up as a leader and took a lot of pressure off all of the other hitters, Dagenais said. Taylor Gallart did a nice job in relief in the front row. I give a lot of credit to our back row for stabilizing the match. I thought they did a nice job of making in-game adjustments. We were really led tonight by our blocking and defensive scheme work which was absolutely outstanding. Our defense was as strong and as disciplined as it's been all year.
Junior libero Jade Hayes put forth an incredible effort with 28 digs for a remarkable 9.33 digs per set. Junior setter Marie Reiterova put up her 10th double-double of the season with a strong 43 assist, 11 dig performance. Senior defensive specialist Roxy Mendez chipped in with 11 digs, her second-consecutive match in double-digits and 10th overall this season.
The Knights return to action on Sunday matinee against UConn at 2 p.m.