ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—The UCF volleyball team swept road American Athletic Conference action over the weekend, defeating UConn and Temple.
"Looking back I couldn't be more proud of what we did as a team," said head coach Todd Dagenais. "It is a notoriously tough trip to go up to Connecticut and Philadelphia. You'd often look at that trip and say 'hey if we can come away with a split that's a pretty good weekend'. We faced different kinds of adversity and were able to overcome it."
Redshirt junior Kia Bright was named The American Offensive Player of the Week based on her superb performances over the weekend. The Starke, Fla., native recorded 35 kills, 22 digs and hit at a .337 clip. She averaged 4.38 kills per set to go along with 2.75 digs per set.
UCF (16-5, 6-2 AAC) started the weekend with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-21) sweep of the Huskies on Friday. The team recorded 47 kills with only eight errors, hitting at .342 clip as a team. Senior Jalé Hervey and freshman Alli Sabol led the team with 12 kills each. Sabol and redshirt junior Taylor Wickey both turned in .500 hitting percentages. Freshman Jeanne Westney hit .429 and senior Taylor Gallart hit .300 to join Bright (.281) as the five Knights who hit above .250.
"This is one of the biggest road wins that we've had in a couple of years," Dagenais said after the victory. "I thought that Isaac, Mike and Jenny did such a great job of planning practice and forcing us to execute. The team really enjoyed the change of pace to get us prepared for this week."
The Knights then defeated Temple 3-2 (25-21, 25-13, 12-25, 19-25, 15-13), in a five-set thriller on Sunday. Bright led the team with 25 kills, hitting .367 in the victory. The outside hitter recorded her team-leading 10th double-double of the year with 10 digs. Gallart (19 kills, 23 digs) and Farah Rajaee (34 assists, 17 digs) both tallied double-doubles as well. Sabol registered 11 kills, hitting .276 with a block.
"Going on the road and getting two huge wins against teams that are ahead of us in both in the standings and in the RPI is a great sign that our team is beginning to mature," said Dagenais following the match. "They are getting stronger mentally and are willing to overcome whatever is in front of them."
UCF Volleyball, which is presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, returns to The Venue to take on Tulsa and SMU. The Knights host Tulsa on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
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