ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF Volleyball team (24-7) took down in-state rival FSU (19-9) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in dramatic, five set fashion (25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8) Thursday night at Exatech Arena in Gainesville, Fla.
With the win, the Knights advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will play the University of Florida Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. The victory marks the first NCAA Tournament win in the Todd Dagenais era and it is the first time the Knights have advanced to the second round since 2003.
"You see a team, that I've seen all year long, that just has a resilience to them," UCF Volleyball Head Coach Todd Dagenais said. "There was no quit in them."
DOWN GO THE NOLES!
— UCF Volleyball (@UCF_Volleyball) December 6, 2019
WE ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND! #CHARGEON pic.twitter.com/lv399kC1Kh
In addition to it being Dagenais's first NCAA Tournament victory, the win also secured his spot as UCF Volleyball's all-time winningest head coach, passing Lucy McDaniel for his 237th career win.
McKenna Melville powered the Knights with a 20-20 match as she posted 20 kills and 27 digs. With 118 digs as a unit, the Knights posted their highest dig total of the season, previously 82. The season-high in all of NCAA Volleyball this season is 126.
Anne-Marie Watson also turned in a solid performance in the Knights' victory, posting 12 kills and six blocks to solidify herself as the Knight's all-time record holder for most block assists in a single season with 151.
The Knights will face off against the University of Florida Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. UCF is 10-15 all-time against the Gators, with their last meeting resulting in a 3-1 UCF loss against a then ranked No. 4 Florida team. The Knights have faced UF twice in the NCAA Tournament, in 2002 and 2003, dropping both matches by a score of 3-0.
Continue to follow UCF Volleyball on Facebook (/UCF.Volleyball), Twitter (@UCF_Volleyball) and Instagram (@UCF.Volleyball) for the latest on the UCF volleyball team.
FIRST SET
The Knights started the match off with a two point lead following a McKenna Melville kill. Alli Sabol and Nerissa Moravec came in clutch with the rejection to put the Knights up 8-4, but FSU fought back to tie it at 10 apiece. Following the media timeout, the Knights put up two quick points to put them up 17-12 and force an FSU timeout. UCF pulled away to 20-13 and the Seminoles called for time once more. When play resumed, UCF went on a four-point run to cut their deficit to 20-17, and Dagenais called for a timeout of his own. UCF would go on to take the first set, 25-19.
SECOND SET
After a slow start to the second set that resulted in a 9-6 FSU lead, the Knights began to fight back as an Anne-Marie Watson kill tied it at 10 and the Seminoles would call time. After the two sides continued to trade blows, FSU would once again pull out to a lead, going up 19-17. They would then go on a 6-3 run to claim the third set, 25-20.
THIRD SET
UCF fell behind early in the third set, 7-2, before they called for a timeout to regroup. The stoppage would not be effective as FSU would extend their lead to 10-3 before the Knights called for time once more. After falling behind, 12-3, UCF began to battle back in a big way as they went on to outscore FSU 5-1 to cut the deficit to 13-8, and the Seminoles would call time. Following the stoppage, the two sides were evenly matched, but the Knights struggled to come back from the five-point deficit as they would go on to lose, 25-20.
FOURTH SET
The Knights started off the fourth set strong, going up 10-5 following a Kristina Fisher kill, forcing an early FSU timeout. They would continue to keep the pressure on, going up 14-8 before FSU called for time. The Knights would manage to hold onto their sizable lead as they went on to win the set, 25-18, to tie the match at two sets apiece and send it to a decisive fifth set.
FIFTH SET
McKenna Melville began the fifth set with a kill to put UCF up, 1-0. She then tied it up several points later at six apiece and an FSU error put the Knights in the 7-6 lead to force a Seminoles timeout. With UCF up 11-8, they would go on a four-point run to close the door and solidify the 15-8 set victory, giving them the match and advancing them to the NCAA Tournament second round.
POSTGAME PRESSER
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UP NEXT
The Knights will face off against the University of Florida Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. UCF is 10-15 all-time against the Gators, with their last meeting resulting in a 3-1 UCF loss against a then ranked No. 4 Florida team. The Knights have faced UF twice in the NCAA Tournament, in 2002 and 2003, dropping both matches by a score of 3-0.