Oct. 18, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- The UCF volleyball team won the opening set, but the Knights were unable to hold off Tulsa in the next three as the Hurricane earned a 3-1 victory in American Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon at The Venue.
"I thought the first set followed our game plan terrifically," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "I thought we put them in some compromising positions. We were able to score. I thought that carried over into the second set, and I thought we had that second set pretty well in control. Something similar happened when we played SMU and we got into a rut where we weren't able to sideout."
UCF (9-11, 3-5 AAC) kept it close in the opening set until junior Jale Hervey came up with a kill to break a 13-13 tie. Once ahead, the Knights maintained the momentum. Redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty served up the first of a career-high four aces to give the Black and Gold a 22-18 advantage and force a Tulsa timeout. Haggerty's second ace and a kill from redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey sealed UCF's 25-18 win in the first set.
Carrying the energy into the second set, the Knights opened with a 3-0 run and a kill from senior Abbie Fleener pushed UCF's lead to 7-3. Tulsa chipped away and prompted a UCF timeout by tying the score at 21. The Hurricane scored four of the final six points to even the match at 1-1.
The teams traded points and leads in the third set, but a 10-4 run by Tulsa put the set just out of UCF's reach and gave the Hurricane a 2-1 edge in the match. Scoring the first four points of the fourth set, Tulsa held the advantage early. A pair of kills from Hervey and Fleener cut into the Hurricane lead, but Tulsa held on for the match victory.
Jale Hervey led the Knights with 14 kills, while Abbie Fleener added 13. Freshman Jordan Pingel posted a match-high 16 digs, while Taylor Wickey finished with a match-high seven blocks. Maddie Haggerty's career-best four aces were also a match-high.
Next Up
? UCF, who is presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, close out a three-match homestand on Wednesday, welcoming USF at 7 p.m.
Story by Megan Herboth; Video by Evan Weston