ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The Knights (23-7, 14-2) secured their spot in the American Athletic Conference championship Saturday afternoon after a clean sweep (25-17, 25-13, 25-23) over west division champs SMU (18-9, 11-5) at The Venue in Orlando, Fla. The Knights will square off against Cincinnati (25-5, 15-1) Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed live via ESPNU.
WE"RE GOING TO THE 'SHIP! #CHARGEON pic.twitter.com/GAmJdWOMVR
— UCF Volleyball (@UCF_Volleyball) November 23, 2019
"I told the team in the locker room this is by far the most consistent match we've played all year," said UCF Volleyball Head Coach Todd Dagenais. "We started off a little bit slow but, defensively we were on fire and that fire never stopped. I think we were locked in as much as we have been all year long."
UCF shook off a slow start in the opening set against SMU, ultimately taking the first frame, 25-17. It was more of the same from the Knights in set two, with an emphatic 25-13 showing, giving UCF a 2-0 match lead. SMU battled back valiantly in the third stanza to tie the score at 20-20 in the late stages, but UCF surged forward and put the first semifinal away 25-23.
Unanimous all-conference first-team selection McKenna Melville powered the UCF attack with a match-high 19 kills on a .320 hitting percentage, adding 13 digs and two blocks for her conference-high 20th double-double of the season. All-conference first-teamer Kristina Fisher added 12 kills and eight digs, Makenzie Kuchmaner contributed four service aces and 17 digs and Nerissa Moravec chipped in seven kills and a match-high eight blocks for the Knights.
The Knights will play Cincinnati for the conference title Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET in The Venue. The Knights faced off against the Bearcats twice already this year, dropping both. Cincinnati has posted a 25-5, 15-1 record to this point in the season and is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UCF is 9-8 all-time against Cincinnati.
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FIRST SET
Lache Harper kicked things off for the Knights with a kill to begin the match, giving UCF the early, 1-0 advantage. The Knights pulled away early, leading 9-4 to force SMU to call time. A Makenzie Kuchmaner service ace put UCF up 12-6, but SMU stayed relevant in the set, bringing the score back to 17-14 before a Melville kill caused SMU to call another timeout as they trailed 19-14. UCF would go on to capture the first set 25-17.
SECOND SET
The Knights stayed hot in the second set as they went up 9-4 early, making SMU call their first timeout before the tenth point. Kristina Fisher recorded the clutch kill to put UCF up, 14-7, and SMU would call their second timeout. Another kill from Fisher propelled the Knights to win the second set, 25-13.
THIRD SET
Once again, UCF jumped out in front as they took the 8-3 lead to begin the third set, but SMU would not waiver as they went on a four-point run to tie it at nine apiece. The two sides continued to go back-and-forth, and the set was tied at 20. A big Melville kill put UCF in the driver's seat, 22-21, and SMU called time. Melville continued to shine as a another huge kill gave the Knights the 24-22 lead and SMU called their final timeout, but it would not affect the outcome as UCF would go on to win the set, 25-23 to win the set and sweep the match to secure a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
POSTGAME PRESSER
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UP NEXT
The Knights will play Cincinnati for the conference title Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET in The Venue. The Knights faced off against the Bearcats twice already this year, dropping both. Cincinnati has posted a 25-5, 15-1 record to this point in the season and is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UCF is 9-8 all-time against Cincinnati.