Volloween SweepVolloween Sweep

Volloween Sweep

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Celebrating its annual Volloween match, the UCF volleyball team put together one of its most complete performances of the year in a 3-0 sweep of Memphis (25-23, 25-20, 25-18). The Knights (12-12, 4-7) hit .281 with 51 kills, while shutting down the Tigers (8-16, 1-11) to a .143 clip at the net.

After UCF took a 24-23 lead in the first, Memphis would only be in front one more time by scoring the first point in the second set. The Black and Gold hit .389 in the second and .275 in the third, while holding the Tigers to marks of .158 and .081 over the same stretch.

Kia Bright was sensational on the attack yet again with 18 kills on 37 swings to hit .378. Offensively, the Black and Gold earned the majority of their points, going for 17, 18 and 16 kills in the three frames. Taylor Wickey connected on six kills for a .545 clip at the net. Jeanne Westney, Kristina Fisher and Allie Sabol each record more than five kills. Jeanne Westney tallied a .500 hitting percentage. Miranda Watkins and Erin Olson kept the offense efficient with 49 combined assists.

The middles were relentless on the block, as the Knights reached double figures for the ninth time this season. Wickey tied her career high with nine rejections, split between three solos and six assists. Sabol sent five balls back over the net. Libero Jordan Pingel kept countless rallies alive by sprawling out for 18 digs over three sets. Bright notched her 16th double-double of the campaign with 13 digs.

RALLY IN THE FIRST
* After going five sets with Memphis earlier this year, the match seemed destined to go beyond three when the Tigers took a 20-14 lead in the opener.
* A well-placed timeout by head coach Todd Dagenais allowed his players to compose themselves and start a 6-0 to get back into the set.
* Sabol and Fisher hammered back-to-back kills, before Wickey pulled the Knights back within two with a pair of rejections.
* Kills by Fisher and Wickey knotted the game up at 20-20.
* Later at 23-23, Anne-Marie Watson came up big with two consecutive kills to close the set.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
* Bright and Wickey combined for 24 of the Knights' 51 kills on the afternoon.
* Bright finished with 97 attacks this weekend with 35 kills for a .257 clip.
* Not to be outdone, Wickey was a terror for opposing offenses with 12 blocks to go along with 10 kills over the two matches.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS


DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
Head coach Todd Dagenais after the match.
Opening statement...
"Middles can be effective at certain times and certain sequences, and I thought we did a nice job of setting them within the sequence today. I thought Jenny Maurer did a great job of calling that offense and the setters did a great job. Kia hit nearly .400 with almost 100 swings on the weekend. It was never intended to be that way, but it was the matchups and starting rotations that we got into. I thought were able to take advantage of just enough things that got them second got them second guessing. Once we did that, we ran our offense very well. When you look at our offense and the number of kills we had, I think it shows the setters did a very good job."

On the timeout before the first-set run...
"That timeout was about being patient. That's exactly what we talked about. We talked about cutting down the errors and controlling what they wanted to do. Memphis brought it. They were serving us off the floor. We wanted to set the tone for the next set. What was really neat was to see us go three-for-one. When we caught up at 20-20, I felt we had a pretty good shot at closing it out. That was just us not being rattled and staying patient."

On how the last three matches set up the rest of the season...
"We know what we have to do to get that NIT bid. We don't have to be perfect or win out. We don't need help from anybody. It's just us. We have to go out there and win more than we lose. I don't think there's too much pressure. We just have to go out and play our game. I think we're putting ourselves in a great position to achieve the postseason goal that we have."


UP NEXT
The Knights travel to Cincinnati and East Carolina next week.
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