TAMPA, Fla. - The UCF volleyball team returned to action Saturday night, facing USF at The Corral in Tampa.
The Bulls claimed the opening set, 25-16, but the Knights bounced back to take the next three. UCF rebounded with a 25-12 second-set win. The Black and Gold edged USF 25-23 in the third set and 25-22 in the fourth set.
Taylor Gallart led the Knights with 18 kills and hit .359, while Jale Hervey had 15 kills while hitting .333. Ann Richards hit .556 with six kills. Brooke Imirie and Whitney Turner each had five kills, while Taylor Wickey finished with a pair of kills.
Head Coach Todd Dagenais: "I was very happy with the way our team played in games two and three. We had to fight our way to a win in game four as well. I thought at times we played with the execution and precision that we played with against Florida and Florida State, but I also thought we played extremely sluggish in the first set and looked a little bit tired in the third and fourth set. I think that's something the team is committed to addressing during their summer workouts.
"Our outside hitters really carried us tonight. But we need to be able to diversify our offense, especially when I feel like we have tired legs. The positive is that I look out there and still see many young faces and many inexperienced players who are fighting hard to learn and get better at the college game. They will continue to improve even more as the days and weeks pass heading into this fall."
UCF closes out the spring season April 6 at Florida Southern in Lakeland.