ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The Knights (16-6, 9-1) recorded their seventh straight victory Sunday afternoon after a 3-1 win (25-19, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17) over Tulane at The Venue in Orlando, Fla.
UCF has proven to be a tough matchup at home this season as they are 9-2 when playing in front of their home crowd. The Knights came out strong in the match, taking the first two sets by five points or more before dropping the third set to Tulane, 18-25. UCF bounced right back, looking strong in the fourth set and never slowing down to win the final 25-17, and the match 3-1.
"They are so tough to beat," UCF Volleyball Head Coach Todd Dagenais said. "They play amazing defense. They make you earn everything, and they don't make a bunch of mistakes. They make you go out and play the best you can possibly play."
Alli Sabol had a nice day attacking from the right side as she recorded 11 kills while hitting .556. Lache Harper was another large contributor in the Knights' victory. Coming off a week in which she was named to The American Athletic Conference Honor Roll list, Harper had eight kills and nine blocks in the win over Tulane.
The Black and Gold will be back at The Venue again to begin next weekend as they take on in-state rival USF Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The Knights are 1-0 so far this season in the War on I4.
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FIRST SET
The Knights wasted no time getting on the board as a kill from Lache Harper to kick things off put UCF up 1-0. The two sides were evenly matched throughout the majority of the set, with neither team pulling away by more than two points until UCF finally went up 22-19, forcing a Tulane timeout. Following the stoppage, the Knights continued their attack, taking the final three points to win the first set, 25-19.
SECOND SET
Like the first set, the second set was neck-and-neck throughout. It wasn't until the end that the Knights began to gain momentum and pull away. An Erin Olson service ace put UCF up 21-19 and forced a Tulane timeout. When play resumed, UCF outscored Tulane 4-1 and Alli Sabol and Lache Harper teamed up at the net for a rejection to secure the 25-20 set win for the Knights, putting them up two sets to none.
THIRD SET
The Knights struggled out of the gates in the third set, falling behind 9-4 before coach Dagenais called a timeout to regroup. Unfortunately, the timeout was not as effective as the Knights had hoped, and Tulane extended their lead to 20-14 before UCF called yet another timeout. The Knights fought hard, but they eventually dropped the third set, 18-25.
FOURTH SET
After losing the third set, UCF seemed to be on a mission in the fourth set as they went up 6-2 early. They kept the pressure on and were up 11-6 before a Tulane timeout stopped play. The timeout served to only help the Knights as they scored three straight points coming out of it, capping off a seven-point scoring run to force another Tulane timeout. UCF went on to win the final set 25-17 to take the match, 3-1.
DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
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UP NEXT
The Black and Gold will be back at The Venue again to begin next weekend as they take on in-state rival USF Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The Knights are 1-0 so far this season in the War on I4.
