Nov. 25, 2015
TULSA, Okla. (UCFKnights.com) - UCF Volleyball used an all-round team effort to turn up the heat and rally for a 3-1 victory over Tulsa at the Reynolds Center on Wednesday evening.
"I could not be more excited to see the smiles on the faces and to see that working hard in practice in November pays off," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "This team, despite the condition that their bodies are in and despite the tiredness, worked hard this week and it really paid off in a huge, huge road victory."
UCF (15-16, 9-10 AAC) won the opening set, 25-18, but Tulsa sent the teams to intermission tied at 1-1 with a 25-22 second set win. The Knights came out of the break determined to finish strong and used a .341 hitting percentage to take a 25-21 third set victory.
Holding Tulsa to just 10 kills and a .128 hitting percentage in the fourth set, the Black and Gold rattled off a 10-2 run to close the match and earn the 25-17 set win.
UCF earned its second consecutive win at Tulsa and the third road victory against the Golden Hurricane under Coach Dagenais.
Junior Jale Hervey led UCF with 21 kills, while freshman Jordan Pingel posted a team-high 25 digs. Redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Senior Dana Faught finished with 29 assists and 10 digs.
Hervey On Fire
? Jale Hervey led the Knights with a match-high 21 kills. She has led UCF in kills in 18 matches this season.
? Hervey hit .459 with just four errors on 37 attacks in the match.
? The Huntsville, Ala., native has finished with 10 or more kills in 48 of her 58 matches as a Knight.
"That's two matches in a row when Jale has stepped up and become that one player that every team needs to look to for production. For two matches now, I feel like (Jale's) stepped up into that role, and it really kept (Tulsa) off balance."- Coach Dagenais
Prime Time For Pingel
? Jordan Pingel finished with a match-high 25 digs. She now has 552 digs on the season, the most by a UCF freshman in a single season.
? She passed Jade Hayes for the second-most digs in a season. Pingel is 20 shy of tying the single-season record.
"I thought the big thing was Jordan Pingel just constantly being in the right spot over, over, and over again with 25 digs. She just had a tremendous defensive match, and was also solid in the passing game." - Coach Dagenais
Road Warriors
? The Knights are 8-5 on the road this season. UCF has won six of its last eight matches away from The Venue.
? UCF finished with 68 kills as a team, the most in a four-set match this season. The Knights hit .268 overall and recorded hitting percentages above .260 in the three sets that they won.
Next Up
? UCF, who is presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, closes out the season Friday. The Knights face the American Athletic Conference champion SMU at 2 p.m. ET in Moody Coliseum.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photos by Brad Helton