Sept. 17, 2015
MIAMI, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - A total team effort led UCF Volleyball to a 3-0 victory at FIU on Thursday evening at FIU Arena. The Knights improve to 6-5 with the 25-12, 25-15, 25-22 win in the 2015 FIU Invite.
"I saw great support and enthusiasm for each other's efforts," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "And that kind of unselfishness was the key to this victory tonight."
The Knights hit .309 as a team with 50 kills and held FIU to a .071 hitting percentage. UCF played one of its most complete matches of the season as four Knights contributed to the squad's five aces. The Black and Gold also had seven team blocks.
"I challenged the team to show that heart and intensity that I know each of them have in them and put it together for a team effort," Dagenais said. "Starting even two hours before the match in our serve and pass, you could tell that the energy was back."
Evening Sweep
• FIU scored the opening point of the evening, but UCF responded with five of the next seven. After trading points early in the first set, the Black and Gold took control and claimed a 25-12 victory.
•The Knights withstood a push from the Panthers in the middle of the second set, charging to a 25-15 win.
• The third set was all UCF, starting with senior Abbie Fleener's opening kill. The Knights never trailed and never allowed the Panthers to pull even. The closest FIU came to tying the set occurred early on, but kills from redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey and redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty pushed UCF's advantage.
• The Black and Gold swept the Panthers for the second straight season. In 2014, UCF defeated FIU 3-0 at the Radisson UCF Invitational.
Super Seniors
• Seniors Abbie Fleener and Dana Faught started all three sets for the Knights.
• Fleener scored the second point of the opening set with her first kill of the evening. She opened the second and third sets with kills as well.
• Fleener finished with 13 kills on 20 swings for a .550 hitting percentage. Faught finished with 21 assists, eight digs and an ace.
"I thought (Abbie) did a great job of going up, seeing the holes, hitting the hands and taking the shots that FIU was allowing her to take. I thought Dana did a great job of setting her, putting her in a position to be successful, but Abbie certainly took advantage of every opportunity she had to put balls away," Coach Dagenais said.
Next Up
• The Knights close out the trip on Friday with a match against Miami in Coral Gables. The teams face off at 7 p.m. in the Knight Complex.
• UCF is back at The Venue for the American Athletic Conference opener against UConn on Sept. 25.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photo by Simone Amaduzzi