ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – UCF Volleyball (7-5) was firing on all cylinders Saturday night in their 3-0 win over Florida Atlantic (6-5), sweeping the owls (25-15, 25-18, 25-15) in three sets at the Sunshine State Classic in Orlando, Fla.
UCF was cruising for much of the match, jumping ahead early in all three sets and not relinquishing the lead to take each set by seven or more points.
"To go out there and handle [FAU] the way that we did, the number of blocks that we had – seventeen and a half blocks in three sets – that is something else." UCF head coach Todd Dagenais said. "We are going out there and making points. We had the offense tonight. We had the defense tonight. And I think when we put the offense and the defense together, I really feel like we are a top-25 team."
Kristina Fisher was excellent all weekend for the Knights, and once again proved to be a key contributor as she tallied six digs and six kills while hitting at a .417 clip. Anne-Marie Watson also looked strong, hitting .500 for nine kills and four blocks.
The victory marked the seventh of the season for the Black and Gold. They begin conference play next weekend on Friday, September 27, as UConn comes to town. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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We take down FAU in three sets ??
— UCF Volleyball (@UCF_Volleyball) September 22, 2019
How sweep it is! #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/IW84p632cY
FIRST SET
UCF started off the night on a 5-0 run before allowing FAU to score their first point of the match. Following a service ace by Makenzie Kuchmaner that put the Knights up 13-5, FAU called a timeout, but it wouldn't slow the pace for UCF as they went on to take the first set 25-15.
SECOND SET
It was much of the same story in the second set as the Knights went up early and never relinquished the lead. With UCF already leading, Lache Harper and Fisher teamed up for a block to prevent an FAU score and bring the score to 10-5, forcing FAU to call a timeout. Despite the timeout, the Knights kept their momentum and used it to roll into a 25-18 set victory.
THIRD SET
Up two sets to none, the Knights were looking to close the door on a strong performance. MaKenzie Chambers started off the third set with a solo block to get UCF up early, and a four-point run shortly after put the Knights at a 7-3 advantage. They would not relinquish the lead, going on to win the third set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.
DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
On beginning conference play next weekend:
"Our preseason is over now. Now we have to get into the meat of our schedule: our conference play. That is what really gets us into the NCAA Tournament. Now we get to start again. We are going to start 0-0 in conference. This is where the rubber meets the road."
On the changes from the morning match:
"I don't think our offense was different in any way. I just thought we executed it. Balls were landing in the spots that we were trying to hit as compared to against Miami, we were trying to force something or thread something and it just didn't work. We made too many unforced errors against Miami and you can't do that against a team of that caliber and that size. That one got away from us because of lack of discipline and errors."
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UP NEXT
UCF begins conference play next weekend on Friday, September 27, as UConn comes to town. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. ET.