ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—Sophomore Jordan Pingel was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week based on her performances against SMU and Tulsa. This is the Knights' first defensive weekly award since DeLaina Sarden on Nov. 17, 2014.
"This is a very pleasant surprise to hear that Jordan received this honor," said head coach Todd Dagenais. "Our blockers and blocking schemes did such a fantastic job of putting her in a position to make great plays for us. She was reading the attackers so well. There are so many tremendous liberos in our conference. Typically you have to win both matches to be in contention for such award. She did such a great job at SMU and followed it up with a historic-level performance against Tulsa. We are all very proud of her."
The Colorado Springs, Colo., native helped the team to a 1-1 weekend, sweeping Tulsa and falling to conference leader SMU. The libero led UCF defensively to end Tulsa's five-match win streak with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18) victory over the Golden Hurricane. Pingel registered a career three-set high 24 digs in the victory along with four assists. Against SMU, she tallied 17 digs and two assists.
The Knights return to The Venue for their final home weekend. The Knights host Temple for Family Night on Friday evening, followed by Senior Day against UConn on Sunday.