Sept. 5, 2015
OMAHA, Neb. (UCFKnights.com) --A pair of wins on Saturday gave the UCF Volleyball team its second tournament title of the season. The Knights (5-1) downed North Dakota, 3-1, and swept Omaha to go undefeated at the Omaha Classic at Sapp Fieldhouse.
"I was really happy with the mental step that we took from last week to this week," UCF head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I thought our performance as a whole improved dramatically over last week."
Related: UCF-North Dakota Box Score | UCF-Omaha Box Score
Junior Kia Bright was named the Omaha Classic MVP. She was joined on the all-tournament team by freshman Jordan Pingel and senior Abbie Fleener. Bright finished the weekend with 61 kills with a .314 hitting percentage. She also had 43 digs, 10 blocks and an ace. Pingel averaged 5.40 digs over UCF's 10 sets on the weekend, tallying 54 total digs in three matches. Fleener's 29 kills and .328 hitting percentage landed her on the all-tournament team for the first time this season. She also had two blocks.
Kia Is Key
• Kia Bright was named the tournament MVP after an outstanding weekend. She recorded a career-high 29 kills in UCF's win over North Dakota.
• Bright posted her fifth double-double of the season against Omaha, finishing with a match-high 12 kills and 11 digs. She tallied a season-best four solo blocks and added a block assist.
• The Starke, Fla., native has never finished with fewer than five kills in her 49 collegiate starts.
All-Tournament, Again
• Jordan Pingel has played in two tournaments as a member of the UCF volleyball team and has been named to the all-tournament team in both.
• The Colorado Springs, Colo., native leads the Knights with 118 digs this season. She tallied 12 and added eight assists in UCF's sweep of Omaha.
•The defensive specialist finished the weekend with 54 digs, averaging 5.40 digs per set. She also added 15 assists.
Knocking Off North Dakota
• The Knights opened Saturday with a mid-morning matchup against UND, the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• UCF jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match, winning set one 25-21 and set two, 25-20.
• North Dakota rallied in the third set, taking a lead out of the gate and holding off late rallies from the Knights. UND forced a fourth set with a 26-24 win in the third.
• UCF showed its mental toughness in the fourth set, taking a 6-0 lead without looking back. The Knights cruised to a 25-15 fourth-set win and earned the second win of the tournament.
"They were tight matches; they were intense matches," Dagenais said. "They were filled with errors on both sides. I really thought we held our composure well when we were making mistakes. We didn't let it affect us. Certainly we weren't worried to perform after a mistake and I thought that was a big difference for us."
Overtaking Omaha
• In another first-ever meeting, UCF closed out the tournament against host Omaha.
• The Knights jumped on the Mavericks from the start. After Omaha scored the opening point, the UCF took control and never relinquished the lead. The Knights won the opening set, 25-14.
• Set two followed the same pattern, with UCF taking an 11-1 lead on a block from Fleener. The Mavericks chipped away at the lead, cutting it to five down the stretch, 23-18. The Knights took advantage of kills from Bright and sophomore Taylor Wickey to claim the set, 25-23, and earn a 2-0 advantage in the match.
• Taking the momentum into the third set, the Knights again built an early lead. UCF needed just nine kills in the final set as the Knights held Omaha to a -.103 hitting percentage. UCF completed the sweep with a 25-11 third set win.
"I thought, by far, this was the most complete match that we've played on the season," Dagenais said. "Even though the numbers don't reflect the fact that it was our best offensive match or blocking match, I thought it was the most complete match. I thought we were excellent in all phases of the game."
Next Up
• The Knights continue road action next weekend, traveling to Minneapolis for the Minnesota Diet Coke Tournament.
• UCF rounds out the non-conference portion of the schedule in Miami, facing Seattle, FIU and Miami on Sept. 17-18. 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