ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF volleyball team opens its final week of the regular season on Wednesday night with War on I-4 clash against USF at 7 p.m. in The Venue. The Knights (17-13, 10-8) will face the Bulls (12-16, 7-11) again on Saturday night in Tampa.
Wednesday's contest will be streamed for free on the American Digital Network. After the match, UCF will honor seniors Taylor Wickey and Kia Bright.
UCF enters the week in sixth place in the American Athletic Conference standings, one match out of fourth. The Knights can put themselves in a good position for an at-large bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship with a pair of wins this week.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Knights went on the road for the final time in the regular season and picked up a pair of victories at Temple and UConn.
• UCF swept the third-place Owls on Friday, setting a season-high .339 attack percentage.
• On Sunday, the Black and Gold took the opening two sets against the Huskies, but had to wait until the fifth game to close out the match.
• Kristina Fisher was named The American Offensive Player of the Week for her 4.25 kills per set and .389 hitting percentage.
THE STREAK
• The Knights won their last four matches and dropped just two frames during the stretch.
• Led by Bright and Fisher with 4.29 and 3.43 kills per set, respectively, UCF outhit opponents .308 to .167.
• Jordan Pingel was all over the place to keep balls alive in the back row, averaging 5.29 digs per set.
• The blocking trio of Wickey, Jeanne Westney and Anne-Marie Watson proved tough to go through for opposing offenses, guiding the Knights to 9.25 blocks per match.
TAYLOR WICKEY
• The middle blocker from Omaha, Neb., has been a three-year starter for the Knights.
• She ranks second in the American Athletic Conference with a .365 hitting percentage.
• The redshirt senior has 321 total blocks, which ranks fifth in program history. Her 267 block assists and 54 block solos are the sixth and ninth most by a Knight, respectively.
• A four-time selection to The American All-Academic Team, Wickey will graduate in May with her master's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
KIA BRIGHT
• The Starke, Fla., has had one of the most prolific careers as a Knight.
• Bright ranks fourth in career digs (1,196), sixth in digs per set (2.95), sixth in kills (1,343), seventh in kills per set (3.32) and seventh in block solos (63).
• She became just the fifth player in program history to join the prestigious 1,000-dig, 1,000-kill club.
• The two-time American Athletic Conference First Team pick will graduate in May with a master's degree in Health Care Informatics.
WAR ON I-4
• Each match this week with be worth three points.
• The 2017-18 edition of the rivalry is tied at 9-9.
• UCF won the season-long series with USF in 2016-17, 36-15.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
• USF is in eighth place in The American with two matches remaining.
• The Bulls defense, which is allowing a conference-high .223 opponent hitting percentage, will face one of the hottest offenses in the league.
• Doris Carter headlines a USF attack that features four players with more than two kills per set.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Bulls own a 45-32 record over the Knights, but the Black and Gold have won the last eight meetings.
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