ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - After a tumultuous week filled with a hurricane, travel delays and long bus rides, the UCF volleyball team finally played its 2017 home opener on Friday night and had one of its best matches of the season, sweeping Virginia 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17).
Fueled by a sizable and rowdy crowd, the Knights (6-5) thoroughly dominated the Cavaliers (4-6) to tune of a season-high .360 hitting percentage. The Black and Gold found themselves behind just once in the match, on the opening point of the third set.
Kia Bright led all players with 11 kills and 16 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Freshman Kristina Fisher finished one kill shy of her third career double-double.
In the opening frame, UCF ran out to a 7-3 lead behind a pair of kills from Fisher and Taylor Wickey. UVA cut the lead down to four at 20-16, but the Knights were in control with a .357 clip at the net.
Bright powered the offense in the second with six kills on 11 swings with one error. Leading 11-10, the Black and Gold went on a 12-1 run, before UVA could respond. With the win, the Knights improved to 5-0 when winning the first two sets.
Coming out of the break ahead 2-0, UCF saved its best for last. Hitting .444 in the frame, the Knights could not miss on offense. Bright, Alli Sabol, Jeanne Westney and Lache Harper all hit above .600.
WELL ROUNDED ATTACK
• The Knights finished with six players above a .300 attack percentage.
• Veterans Kia Bright and Alli Sabol tallied 20 kills, while rookies Kristina Fisher and Anne-Marie Watson combined for 18.
• In all three sets, the Black and Gold hit above .300, led by Wickey's .600.
• UCF committed just 12 errors, its fewest since 10 at Tulsa last season.
DEFENSE HOLDS THE CAVALIER OFFENSE
• For the eighth time this season, the Knights held an opponent to a hitting percentage of .200 or below.
• UVA did not manage to put one player in double-figure kills.
• Fisher notched her fourth double-digit digs performance of the season.
DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
Head coach Todd Dagenais after the match.
On performing so well after an eventful week…
"I really feel fortunate that we were able to get our team back into a rhythm after having to take a long bus ride back from Arkansas. Rhythm and routine are so important for a college student. Our players like the predictability of a routine. We were able to have regular practices on Wednesday and Thursday to get ready to play. That's a big credit to the players of putting things behind them to recover quickly. It's a credit to the leadership, which would not allow the team to make any excuses. I think that this was tribute to the seniors and the leadership group that put us in a position to play so well."
On how his team continues to develop…
"You can't take away from the fact that we hit .360 on the day, which is by far the best this year. There are still areas where we can get better. We know we can get better and that's the exciting part. I think we're at 10-percent of who we could be right now. If we're at 80-percent in November, we're going to be in good shape."
On facing Virginia again tomorrow…
"Virginia is going to be a tougher team as the season goes on. They're missing a couple key components. It would have been a tremendous battle if they had all their starting lineup in the match. I think the team that loses the first game of the doubleheader has the advantage, because they go back and make the adjustments. Aaron Smith is a good coach at Virginia, and I'm sure he's going to bring a different package to the floor tomorrow. I think it's going to be a completely different match tomorrow. We'll look forward to that challenge. This team embraces adversity. They've been doing it all season long."
BACK AT IT TOMORROW
The Knights and Cavaliers will return to The Venue tomorrow for the final match of the VolleyKnights Invitational.
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