Oct. 11, 2015
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team closed out the first conference road trip of the season with a sweep of Memphis in American Athletic Conference action at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.
"I thought we did a real nice job of playing from ahead today," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I thought we were exceptional when the game was tight, and the couple times where we found ourselves down, we really responded with a solid execution play."
UCF (9-9, 3-3 AAC) jumped on Memphis early, opening the match with a 7-0 run. The Knights cruised to a 25-16 victory in the first set. The Tigers kept the second set close, but a pair of kills from junior Jale Hervey sealed a 25-21 set victory to give UCF a 2-0 advantage in the match. The Black and Gold saw a lead slip away in the third set as Memphis claimed a 20-18 advantage. UCF stayed focused and used a 7-1 run down the stretch to clinch the victory.
Jale Hervey led the Knights with 14 kills, while junior Shelby Foyer posted a match-high 19 digs. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey finished with five blocks for the Black and Gold.
Fleener On Fire
• Senior Abbie Fleener came out strong for the Knights. She tallied five kills on seven swings for a .714 hitting percentage in the first set. • Fleener finished the match with 11 kills and just one error, hitting .435 on the day.
Digging It
• UCF stepped up on the road and out-dug the Tigers 64-56. Nine of the 11 Knights that played in the match recorded at least two digs.
• In addition to Foyer's 19, redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty recorded a career-best 16 digs in the win.
• Entering the match, Memphis led the league with an average of 18.25 digs per set.
Sunday Sweep
• The Knights posted the first Sunday victory in conference action this season.
• UCF also earned its first three-set road victory over the Tigers in the rally-scoring era. The Knights are 5-3 in Memphis under Dagenais, but all eight matches have gone at least four sets.
"We fully expected that this was going to be one of those knock-down, drag-out battles that we have. I think something strange just happened early and we jumped on them," Dagenais said.
Next Up
• UCF, who is presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, is back at The Venue on Oct. 16 for three matches in a five-day span.
• The Black and Gold open with the Pink Match against SMU before taking on Tulsa and USF.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photo by Brad Helton