ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – UCF (17-6, 10-1) took down the USF Bulls (7-18, 1-10) in just three sets (25-14, 26-24, 25-14) Friday night, completing the series sweep and pushing their winning streak to eight straight.
With a large crowd rocking The Venue, the Knights were in control for much of the match, wavering only during the second set, but finishing strong to complete the sweep. With the win, UCF adds three more points to the War on I-4 total, pushing the score to 18-6, UCF.
"When you are playing South Florida, you can throw the records out because anything can happen," UCF Volleyball Head Coach Todd Dagenais said. "I think this is one of those matches where, if you aren't careful and you bring too much emotion into it, it could cloud you from being able to execute, but I thought we didn't do that. We came in very business-like, executed, and jumped on them pretty good early."
McKenna Melville turned in a strong performance in the victory as she tallied 15 kills and seven digs in three sets. Kristina Fisher was also racking up points on the night as she totaled 12 kills and was hitting .455 from the field.
The Black and Gold will hit the road as they travel to Texas to take on SMU. The match is set for a 2:00 p.m. ET first serve.
Continue to follow UCF Volleyball on Facebook (/UCF.Volleyball), Twitter (@UCF_Volleyball) and Instagram (@UCF.Volleyball) for the latest on the UCF volleyball team.
WE TAKE DOWN THE BULLS... AGAIN! ??????#ChargeOn | #WarOnI4 pic.twitter.com/s8GYY1UfDO
— UCF Volleyball (@UCF_Volleyball) November 2, 2019
FIRST SET
Melville began the knight with back-to-back kills and Alli Sabol chipped in with a kill of her own to start UCF off with a 3-0 lead. The Knights continued to tack onto their lead, and Melville had another big kill to put them up 12-3, forcing an early Bulls timeout. With UCF extending their lead to 17-8, USF called their second timeout, but it would not help as the Knights went on to win the first set, 25-14.
SECOND SET
UCF remained in the driver's seat to begin the second set as kills from Lache Harper and Kristina Fisher put them out in front 2-0. USF would not give up as they took the lead, their first of the night, to make it 5-4. UCF answered tight back, going up 10-6, and USF called a timeout. The two sides continued to go back and forth until the end and the set was tied at 24 apiece. Alli Sabol knocked down a kill to put UCF up 25-24 and Melville finished it off, securing the 26-24 set win for the Knights.
THIRD SET
With the momentum back on their side, UCF went up 10-5 early in the third set to force a USF timeout. Back-to-back service aces from Amber Olson made it 16-10 and USF would call another timeout. The Knights kept the pressure on as they would go on to win the third and final set, 25-14, to win the match, 3-0.
DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
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The Black and Gold will hit the road as they travel to Texas to take on SMU. The match is set for a 2:00 p.m. ET first serve.