Temple TakedownTemple Takedown

Temple Takedown

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (UCFKnights.com) - Behind its third straight sweep, the UCF volleyball team dominated its Friday night matchup at Temple (25-22, 25-17, 25-22). The Knights (16-13, 9-8) avenged a 3-2 loss at home by ripping a season-high .389 hitting percentage. UCF has now won five of its last six matches.

Powered by 15 kills from Kia Bright, the Knights hit above .302 in all three sets. Bright was electric with a .387 clip at the net and just three errors. Kristina Fisher had a career night. The rookie out of Austin, Texas, pounded 14 kills and a .464 hitting percentage. Alli Sabol added seven kills, while the middle tandem of Jeanne Westney and Taylor Wickey combined for 10 kills. Miranda Watkins and Erin Olson kept the offense rolling all night with 45 assists. The latter notched a perfect attack percentage with a cheeky dump over the net in the third.

UCF set the tone early on 16 kills in the opening frame to the tune of a .387. The Black and Gold put together one of its best sets of the year in the second, committing just one error and hitting .500. UCF marginally cooled to a .302 clip and 17 kills in the closing set. Bright and Jordan Pingel turned defense into attack with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Wickey and Anne-Marie Watson teamed up for a trio of blocks.
SOCIAL STATION


MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM
* After taking the opening set, the Knights fell behind by three at 11-8. Back-to-back kills by Sabol and Fisher, along with a Temple error, tied the game.
* The Black and Gold struck for eight consecutive points on kills from Bright, Wickey and Anne-Marie Watson, plus a Fisher ace.
* Fisher and Bright tallied five kills apiece, and Allie Sabol totaled four of the Knights' 18 scoring swings.

HOLDING OFF THE OWLS
* In the previous meeting between the two clubs, Temple rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win. The Knights made sure they would not have déjà vu coming out of the break.
* Down 8-6 in the third, the Knights fired off five straight points on the serve of Mary Kate Painter.
* Fisher drilled half her kills in the final frame.
* Painter and Jordan Pingel dropped in a pair of aces.

DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
Head Coach Todd Dagenais after the match.
On the team's third straight sweep...
"It's great to see the team mature. We keep talking about how we get better with time. We hit our stride in the second half of the conference season. We are peaking at the right time. I love the energy to come into a place with a band and a crazy student second. It was a great road win to get against these guys."

On what was working offensively...
"I thought Jenny Maurer called a tremendous game as the offensive coordinator. We knew what we wanted to do against them. There were some things that worked, even though we didn't expect them to work. We played really well against them in the first two sets against them last time. We didn't respond well when they pushed back. Tonight, we got on them and never let up. We put a lot of pressure on them through our serve, which didn't allow them to set up their offense the way they wanted it."

On holding on to the lead...
"I didn't know that we could challenge Wichita State for the league title this year, but I knew that we could be in that top group. It was just took a while to find our rhythm. I think this is a team that has hit mid-season form. We beat the number three team in the conference."

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