Oct. 24, 2014
Final Stats
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Megan Herboth
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team maintained its momentum as the Knights returned to The Venue to post a straight set (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) win over the Houston Cougars on Friday evening. The Knights turned in their second straight match hitting above .400 to improve to 16-5 overall and stand at an unspoiled 9-0 in the American Athletic Conference.
"We worked really hard for this match all week long," UCF head coach Todd Dagenais said "I'm really proud of our offense. Most importantly, I'm happy to be at home again and get a home win."
UCF opened the night with back-to-back kills from sophomore Kia Bright and senior DeLaina Sarden. Houston kept pace with the Knights until a four-point swing on kills from Bright and senior Loren Cory and a block from Sarden and Cory opened up a 13-9 lead for UCF. The Cougars used their second timeout after a Sarden kill put the Knights up 22-17, but UCF continued to roll. Sophomore Jale Hervey closed the set with a kill to give the Knights a 25-17 win.
In the second set, Houston took a 7-6 lead before two kills from junior Abbie Fleener and a pair of Cougar attack errors gave the Knights a 10-7 lead. Houston battled back to knot the score at 10 and matched the Black and Gold point-for-point to tie the score again at 13. Senior Kaye-Alese Green put the Knights back in front before Hervey slammed consecutive kills to prompt a Houston timeout. Junior Dana Faught followed blocks from Hervey and Green with an ace to push the Knight lead to 20-15. The Cougars hit the ball straight to Sarden who slammed it down to close out the second set and give the Knights a 2-0 lead into intermission.
Bright opened the third set with a kill, but UCF miscues allowed Houston to take an 8-6 lead. Hervey pulled the Knights even at 10-10, and a Cougar error gave UCF the one-point advantage. After falling behind, 13-14, the Knights used a 4-0 run to take a 17-14 lead and force Houston to call timeout. With the score tied at 18, the Knights flipped a switch and scored seven of the last eight points. Back-to-back kills from Sarden gave the Knights the 25-19 set win and the sweep of the match, improving the Knights to 9-0 in The American.
"Being 9-0 just means that we did a really great job in nine consecutive matches of putting ourselves in position to win," Dagenais said. "We're just going to stay hungry. We're 1-0 for another two hours and then we'll go back to being 0-0 again with 0-0 hunger."
A trio of Knights finished with 10 kills each. DeLaina Sarden hit .571 with 10 kills on 14 swings and had two blocks for the Knights. Jale Hervey tallied 10 kills and had three solo blocks, while Kia Bright finished with 10 kills and six digs for UCF. Senior Jade Hayes led the Knights with seven digs, and sophomore Shelby Foyer served up a pair of aces.
The Knights return to action on Sunday, hosting the Tulane Green Wave. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for the Dig Pink match, which is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
UCF Volleyball is presented by Radisson- UCF Area. For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit UCFKnights.com or call 407-UCF-1000.