Home is always a place where teams feel more comfortable andthe UCF women's volleyball team got a nice boost playing in front of a homecrowd Friday. The Knights went 2-0 on the first day of the Holiday InnSelect/UCF Classic.

The Knights also got a boost from junior Angelica Crump. Theoutside hitter recorded 27 kills in the Knights' victories against Columbia andJacksonville.

"She really is starting to come into her own," UCF headcoach Todd Dagenais said. "We're starting to develop more of a supporting castaround her, where we don't need to depend on her each night.

"Her attacking and her blocking really give us that musclewe need on a night-in and night-out basis," Dagenais added.

Crump was also named to the All-Tournament team at USF lastweekend. Her performance in that tournament carried over to Friday and UCFbenefitted with victories. 

"It's really important that we win at home," Crump said. "Itdefinitely helps [motivate the team] because we play hard in front of friends.It's real exciting to see the fans and see them keep coming back." 

Crump was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Performerlast season and was a first-team All-Conference USA selection. But she isworking hard to receive higher honors this year.

"I would definitely like to make it on one of the top two[All-American] teams," Crump said. "An honorable mention was great, but I wantto progress and make it on one of the top teams this time."

The UCF women's volleyball team will close out the HolidayInn Select/UCF Classic Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Liberty.