Sept. 11, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team battled, but came up short against North Dakota State on Friday evening. The Knights fell 3-1 in the opening match of the Diet Coke Classic at the Sports Pavilion.
"We made North Dakota State beat us and they certainly did," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "We had our opportunities. We just didn't capitalize on them when we had the chance."
After dropping the first set, UCF (5-2) came back to even the match by winning set two. All four sets were battles down the stretch, but North Dakota State was able to hold on to late leads in the third and fourth sets to hand the Knights their second loss of the season.
Look To The Outsides
• Junior outside hitters Jale Hervey and Kia Bright led the Knights with 19 kills and 17 kills, respectively.
• Hervey had a team-best .368 hitting percentage with just five errors on 38 swings. She also had five digs and a solo block for the Knights.
• Bright just missed her sixth straight double-double as she finished with 17 kills and nine digs on the night. She tallied two blocks and served up an ace for UCF.
"We thought that Jale had a good match up that we could exploit and she took full advantage of it," Dagenais said. "It's nice to have that outside two position producing at such high numbers. It certainly allows our three rotations to have more options."
Haggerty's Hot Hand
• Redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty turned in a season-best performance. She finished with a career-best 10 kills and tied her season-high with a .333 hitting percentage.
• Haggerty had a career-best 10.5 points in the match with a block and two digs. She took a career-high 24 swings and only had two errors on the night.
"Her volleyball IQ is incredible," Dagenais said. "She really understands the game well. I thought a lot of her kills came just from the fact that she understands the game."
Next Up
• The Knights are back at the Diet Coke Classic tomorrow, playing in a pair of matches. UCF faces UC Irvine at 1 p.m. ET and closes out the weekend against host Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET.
• UCF round out the nonconference portion of the schedule next week in Miami, facing Seattle, FIU and Miami. The Knights are back at The Venue for the American Athletic Conference opener against UConn on Sept. 25.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photo by Simone Amaduzzi