Sept. 27, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team ran out of steam after a first set battle, as Temple claimed a 3-0 win in American Athletic Conference action in The Venue on Sunday afternoon.
"We just lost a little bit of our focus and our discipline," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "It's just something that we're going to have to get back to work on Tuesday and keep improving every single match as we go forward."
UCF (7-7, 1-1 AAC) opened the match with an ace from junior Shelby Foyer. Kills from junior Taylor Gallart and sophomore Ann Richards helped the Knights jump out to a 4-1 advantage. Temple chipped away at the lead and the Owls found themselves with the upper hand. UCF reclaimed the lead on a block from Gallart and redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey, prompting a Temple timeout.
The teams matched each other point-for-point, tying the score on eight occasions with five lead changes in the opening set. Temple was able to hold off the Knights down the stretch to claim the first set victory.
The Owls scored the opening point of the second set, but a kill from junior Jale Hervey knotted the score 1-1. Temple responded with a kill of its own to reclaim the lead and maintained the advantage for the rest of the set.
Temple jumped out to an early lead in the third and continued to push for most of the set. Hervey sparked some life into UCF in the third set with back-to-back kills to end a four-point spurt from the Owls, but Temple scored the final four points of the day to complete the sweep.
Jale Hervey led the Knights with 12 kills and hit .286 in the match. Taylor Gallart finished with eight kills, six digs and a block assist. Freshman Jordan Pingel led UCF with 11 digs and dished out five assists.
Next Up
? The Knights are back in action on Oct. 2, hosting Tulane at 7 p.m. in the Venue.
? General admission single game tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for youth, seniors (62+) and UCF Faculty Staff. Admission is free for UCF students. For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit UCFKnights.com or call 407-UCF-1000.
Story by Megan Herboth; Video by Rachel White