Oct. 17, 2014
Final Stats
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Megan Herboth
UCFKnights.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFKnights.com) - After dropping the first two sets, the UCF volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-13) win over Memphis in American Athletic Conference action in Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Friday night. Improving to 14-5 overall, UCF's 7-0 record in The American is the best start in conference play since 2003.
"This is not a pretty win; this is not a dominating win," UCF head coach Todd Dagenais said "Tonight, we won. On the road, you have to win, and (sometimes) you have to win ugly. The team snapped right back into that competitive mode that we've been accustomed to all year long."
After trading points to open the first set, the Knights used a pair of Memphis errors and a kill from sophomore Jale Hervey to take a 7-4 lead. A Hervey block and an ace from junior Dana Faught came in a four-point run for UCF that put the Black and Gold up 15-12. After Memphis closed the gap to two, senior Loren Cory came up with a kill to give UCF a 23-18 lead. The Tigers closed out with a 6-0 run to take a 26-24 set win.
Memphis picked up where it left off, scoring five unanswered points to open the second set. The Knights took advantage of a Tiger ball handling error and a kill from Cory to stop the Memphis run. A kill from senior Kaye-Alese Green pulled UCF within two, 15-13, but the Tigers maintained control of the set. A long serve from the Knights gave Memphis a 25-22 set win and a two set lead at the intermission.
Senior DeLaina Sarden opened the third set with back-to-back kills. Hervey recorded a solo block before teaming up with Sarden for a combined block. Sarden, who had a hand in five of UCF's first six points, tallied a pair of kills to give the Knights a 6-0 lead. The Black and Gold continued to push, keeping at least a four-point lead over the Tigers for most of the set. Sophomore Kia Bright scored the set point, as her kill gave UCF the 25-15 set win.
In a tight fourth set, the teams traded leads on seven occasions. After Memphis broke a 14-14 tie, taking a 16-14 lead, the Knights battled back to knot the score at 18. Consecutive Tiger miscues gave UCF a 20-19 lead, but a Memphis kill pulled the teams even at 22. Sarden and Cory teamed up for a block to give the Knights a 24-22 lead and a Memphis service error allowed UCF to tie the match with a 25-23 set victory.
The Knights forced an early timeout for the Tigers as UCF jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the decisive fifth set. Memphis pulled within one, 7-6, before a Bright kill and a block from Sarden and junior Abbie Fleener prompted a second timeout for the Tigers. Matching Memphis kill-for-kill, UCF took a 14-11 lead and Cory's kill completed the comeback for the Knights.
"We really asserted our dominance in the third set," Dagenais said. "Ultimately, it came down to us being able to make important plays when we needed to in sets four and five. We were never panicked in the fifth set. We didn't always execute well, but we never panicked."
UCF out-hit Memphis in each set, finishing with a .241 team hitting percentage while limiting the Tigers to a .145 hitting percentage. The Knights posted 14 team blocks to Memphis' 10 team blocks.
Jale Hervey led UCF with 14 kills and three of her six blocks were solo denials. DeLaina Sarden finished with 13 kills on 22 swings, hitting .500 with seven blocks. Kia Bright posted a double-double, tallying 10 kills and 10 digs while serving up an ace. Abbie Fleener recorded 11 kills on 24 swings for a .375 hitting percentage, and Loren Cory hit .231 with nine kills and three blocks for UCF. Senior Marie Reiterova and junior Dana Faught each had double-doubles for the Knights. Reiterova finished with 29 assists and 17 digs while Faught recorded 22 assists and 11 digs. Senior Jade Hayes led the Knights with 19 digs.
Next up, the Knights close out the road trip in Cincinnati, going up against the Bearcats at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
UCF Volleyball is presented by Radisson- UCF Area. For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit UCFKnights.com or call 407-UCF-1000.