Oct. 9, 2015
CINCINNATI, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF volleyball team won the opening set, but Cincinnati claimed the next three to earn a 3-1 win in American Athletic Conference action at Fifth Third Arena on Friday evening.
"Cincinnati, defensively tonight, was outstanding," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "They frustrated us, and I think at times that frustration got the better of us. But we fought and I think that's something that I'm really proud of. Even when we were making mistakes, sometimes costly mistakes, our attitude never dropped."
The Knights held an early lead in the opening set, but were forced to call a timeout as they found themselves down 20-17. UCF scored the next three points out of the huddle to tie the set and traded points with the Bearcats. With the score tied at 22, the Knights took advantage of a Cincinnati error and used a block from sophomore Ann Richards and junior Jale Hervey to move to set point. Hervey came up with a kill to give the Black and Gold the set win.
Although the second set saw just two lead changes, the teams tied the score seven times. The Bearcats flipped the script and claimed a 25-22 second set win to even the match at 1-1. Cincinnati carried the momentum out of intermission, using a 25-11 third set victory to take a 2-1 advantage.
The Black and Gold scored the first three points of the fourth set, and saw a lead of as many as five in the early going. The home team chipped away at UCF's margin and used an ace to take its first lead of the set. Senior Abbie Fleener pulled the Knights even at 21 with a kill.
Although the Bearcats pushed ahead and found themselves at match point, a kill from redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey and a Cincinnati error pulled the Black and Gold within one, 24-23, and prompted a Bearcat timeout. Cincinnati claimed the match victory on the next play as the UCF attack went long and landed out of bounds.
Jale Hervey led the Knights with 17 kills and an ace. Defensively, junior Shelby Foyer turned in a team-best 22 digs, while redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty recorded a career-best 14 digs. Senior Dana Faught tallied eight digs, and sophomore Halle Scott finished with seven digs. Haggerty and Ann Richards each had four blocks.
Next Up
? The Knights close out the first conference road trip at Memphis on Sunday.
? UCF is back at The Venue on Oct. 16 for three matches in a five-day span. The Black and Gold open against SMU before taking on Tulsa and USF.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photo by Jeff Roach