ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—UCF Volleyball dropped a 3-0 (16-25, 22-25, 21-25) match to American Athletic Conference leader SMU on Sunday afternoon at The Venue.
"I think we got better as the match went on," said associate head coach Jenny Maurer. "We started focusing on our side of the court and started cutting down on our errors. We played the best team in the conference, there is a reason they are top-50 in the nation. They played very clean. We had opportunities and I think we will be that much more prepared for next time we play them."
The Mustangs jumped out to an early start in the first set, leading 6-1. The Knights slowly started chipping away at the lead until they only trailed by three. SMU held the advantage and went on a five point run to take the first set. The teams went back and forth in the second set. SMU took the lead at 13-12. The Knights kept the set close, never trailing by more than four points. Following the break, the Black and Gold and Mustangs kept it close, with no team leading by more than two. UCF was leading 16-15, but SMU went on a four-point run to go up 20-16. Mustangs continued their momentum and clinched the third set and the match.
Double-Digits
- Six players recorded double-digit numbers in their respective categories.
- Senior Jalé Hervey and redshirt junior Kia Bright recorded 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
- Junior Farah Rajaee and sophomore Miranda Watkins tallied 18 and 14 assists each.
- Rajaee also posted 15 digs, while sophomore Jordan Pingel made 14 digs.
On the Weekend
- On the weekend, Hervey tallied 24 kills, averaging four kills a set, hitting at a .246 clip.
- Pingel made 33 digs, averaging 5.5 digs per set between the two matches.
Second Half
- This match wrapped up the first half of The American play.
- The second half of conference play starts on Thursday when the Knights, who are presented by Holiday Inn Orlando East UCF Area, face Cincinnati at The Venue at 7 p.m.
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