Nov. 1, 2015
NEW ORLEANS, La. (UCFKnights.com) - UCF Volleyball extended its winning streak to four matches with a sweep of Tulane on Sunday afternoon. The Knights defeated the Green Wave 3-0 in American Athletic Conference action at Devlin Fieldhouse.
UCF (13-11, 7-5 AAC) completed the season sweep of Tulane with its third straight three-set victory over a road opponent. The Knights turned in 7.5 team blocks, led by four from sophomore Ann Richards. The Green Wave, ranked second in the league in blocking, posted 5.0 team blocks in the match.
The Knights took control of the first set and were undeterred by a pair of Tulane timeouts. Junior Taylor Gallart gave UCF a 23-18 advantage and senior Abbie Fleener closed it out with back-to-back kills. The Black and Gold kept the momentum in the second set. Freshman Jordan Pingel served up a pair of aces as the Knights closed out on a 6-0 run.
Tulane reversed the script in the third set, scoring the first three points and holding the early advantage. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey broke the 18-18 tie with a kill to put the Knights in front. The Green Wave rallied to tie the set at 23, but a Tulane attack error set the Knights up for match point. Richards, junior Jale Hervey and redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty all got a hand in the final block to help UCF complete the weekend sweep.
Hot-Hitting First Set
• UCF tallied 18 kills with just two errors for a .500 hitting percentage as a team in the first set.
• Five Knights recorded kills in the set and hit above .300. Abbie Fleener turned in a set-high 1.000 with five kills, while Jale Hervey hit .600 with seven kills.
All-Around Effort
• The Knights used a total team effort to defeat the Green Wave.
• Five Knights finished with seven or more kills, and four of those hit .400 or better in the match. Jale Hervey paced UCF with a match-high 12 kills.
• Nine of the 10 Knights that saw action recorded at least one dig, while five members of the UCF squad finished with four or more. Jordan Pingel led the Black and Gold with a match-high 19 digs.
Next Up
• UCF, who is presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, closes out its four-match road trip on Wednesday. The Knights take on USF at 7 p.m. in Tampa.
• The Knights are back at The Venue on Nov. 8, hosting East Carolina at 1 p.m.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photos by Simone Amaduzzi