ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—The UCF Volleyball team continues its road swing at conference-leading SMU and Tulsa this weekend. The Knights take on SMU on Thursday evening and Tulsa on Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, senior Jalé Hervey was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. The Huntsville, Ala., native helped the team to a 2-0 weekend in conference play, sweeping USF and defeating Memphis. The outside hitter led the team with 45 kills, averaging 6.43 kills per set, hitting at a .295 clip. Hervey finished with 26 digs on the weekend, averaging 3.71 digs per set.
The Black and Gold (20-7, 10-4 AAC) open the weekend with a match at SMU. The Mustangs (19-7, 12-2 AAC) went 1-1 last weekend, sweeping ECU and falling to Cincinnati in three sets. Katie Hegarty leads the team with 354 kills, averaging 3.73 kills per set, and 146 digs. Janelle Giordano is ranked first in the conference and on her team with 129 total blocks (11 solo, 118 assists), while Kendall Patterson has 1,015 assists on the season, averaging a conference-leading 10.68 assists per set. Morgan Heise ranks first on the team with 492 digs, averaging 5.18 digs per set.
The last time the the Knights met the Mustangs, UCF fell to the conference leader. Hervey led the team with 11 kills, followed by redshirt junior Kia Bright with 10 kills.
"I expect the best SMU can bring," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "They know a conference championship is within their grasp, and I expect their focus on that possibility is all encompassing. However, I feel like we can do some things to slow them down, keep them out of system and counter attack. It could be a really fun match if we are able to put the pieces together and get into a shootout."
On Saturday, the Knights take on Tulsa (17-9, 6-8 AAC). Last weekend, the Golden Hurricane went 2-0 sweeping East Carolina and defeating Cincinnati. Erica Bohannon leads the team with 379 kills, averaging 3.79 kills per set, while Ashton Anderson ranks first in assists with 635. Rachel Moore is first on the team in total blocks (93), while Brooke Berryhill leads the team in digs (515).
The Black and Gold swept Tulsa in their last meeting, with Hervey and Bright leading the way with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Redshirt junior Taylor Wickey also posted a game-high six total blocks in that match, followed by freshman Jeanne Westney with five total blocks.
"Tulsa still has all the components to be one of the top teams in the conference," said Dagenais. "They just defeated a first-place team last week and I expect that will jumpstart their final push down the stretch. They have had so many near misses to go along with some huge wins. They are a very dangerous team and we will have to finish the weekend with the intensity and execution needed to beat such a high-caliber group."
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