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FAN VOTE: Volleyball Moment Madness

From comeback victories to milestone wins, the 2019 season was packed with memorable moments from start to finish. It saw the UCF volleyball team reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 and repeat as The American champions in epic fashion.

With so many great memories to choose from, we turn to Knight Nation to help us crown the top moment in our #MomentMadness Bracket.

Voting will take place exclusively on the UCF Volleyball Instagram account in the form of Instagram Stories. Each round will be live for 24 hours and fans can vote at any point during that window. Rounds will start at 3:00 p.m. The winner of each round will advance and the process repeats. If a tie occurs, the higher seeded moment will advance. The first round of the tournament will house descriptions and highlights. The top moment will be announced on Friday, April 17.
 
RESULTS

Finals

2. American Championship Win (65 percent) beats 1. NCAA Tournament Victory (35 percent)

Quarterfinals

1. NCAA Tournament Victory (74 percent) beats 6. Victory over No. 14 Illinois (26 percent)

2. American Championship win (82 percent) beats 5. Insane Point against USF (18 percent)

Quarterfinals

1. NCAA Tournament Victory (86 percent) beats 8. Win over ECU for tenth straight win (14 percent)

2. American Championship win (97 percent) beats 7. Selection Show Sunday (3 percent)

6. Win over No. 14 Illinois (51 percent) beats 3. Taking down USF at home (49 percent)

5. Insane Point (73 percent) beats 4. Dagenais gets 237 (27 percent)

Round 1
 
1. NCAA Tournament Victory vs. 8. UCF beats ECU for tenth straight
The first seed in the bracket represents the Knights' 3-2 victory over FSU in the NCAA Tournament. After falling behind, two sets to one, UCF battled back to win the final two sets and claim the epic victory. It was one of UCF's best all-around performances from the 2019 season and they needed it to take down the Seminoles, something the Knights had not done in almost 40 years. The win moved UCF to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Todd Dagenais.

Anne-Marie Watson also turned in a solid performance in the Knights' victory, posting 12 kills and six blocks to break the single-season block assists record and solidify herself as the Knight's all-time record leader with 151.
 


 
The No. 8 seed in the bracket, UCF was able to take down ECU on the road to extend its midseason winning streak to 10 straight. In a match that lasted just one hour and twelve minutes, the Knights seemed to be in control the whole match as they took the first two sets by a combined margin of 21 points, but ECU would not give up as they tested the Knights in the final set, trading blows with them before the Knights finally came out victorious with the 25-23 sweep.
 


 
2. American Championship Victory vs. 7. Selection Sunday
Checking in as the No. 2 seed in the bracket is UCF's victory over Cincinnati to claim the American Athletic Conference championship for the second straight year and the third time ever. Having already played Cincinnati twice earlier in 2019, dropping both matches, UCF knew they had a tough challenge ahead of them if they wanted to defend the title, but UCF had been exceeding expectations all season long, so it was no time to slow down.

It was a close match from start to finish, with the two sides splitting the first two sets. The big set came in the third as the Knights trailed by as much as 24-18 before rallying for eight straight points to come back and take the set! After dropping the fourth set, UCF gained momentum in the final set as the Knights would go on to win, 15-10 to take down the Bearcats and defend their conference title.
 


 
The No. 7 seed goes to UCF's Selection Show Sunday event, where the Knights gathered at Burger U to watch and find out they would be traveling to Gainesville to square off with FSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Although the Knights had already secured their spot in the tournament with the conference championship, the spot in the tournament meant that the Black and Gold had secured back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002-03. It was just the third time in program history that the Knights had made consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and the first time under Todd Dagenais.


 
3. Winning the War on I4 vs. 6. Beating No. 14 Illinois
The Knights enjoyed success in the War on I-4 in 2019, taking down the rival USF Bulls not once, but twice, to add six points to UCF's total in the War on I-4.

The Knights' first matchup against the Bulls came in early October, when UCF took the bus down I-4, beating USF, 3-1. The two teams would face again on Nov. 1 as the Bulls came to The Venue. The Knights won in sweeping fashion, making quick work of USF to win 3-0. UCF has not lost to USF since 2012 as the Knights have won the last 11 contests between the two.
 


 
The Knights wasted little time showing that they were the real deal in 2019 as they took down No. 14 Illinois, 3-1, early in the season. After almost upsetting No. 7 ranked Marquette in five sets the night before, the Knights came out with a vengeance in the match against Illinois and looked to be on a mission to prove what they were capable of. They took the first two sets by at least four points and, after dropping the third set, secured the win in the fourth set to take down the Illini, 3-1.
 


 
4. Dagenais Becomes Winningest Coach vs. 5. Insane Point over USF
What better way to secure your spot as the all-time winningest coach in program history than with an epic NCAA Tournament victory over an in-state rival? That is exactly how head coach Todd Dagenais got to celebrate his 237th career win.

For 40 years, UCF Volleyball great Lucy McDaniel was UCF's all-time winningest head coach with 236 career victories, which she amassed from 1975-79. Coming into his 12th season this past year, Dagenais, with a record of 212-140, needed 25 wins to claim the title for himself and he did just that, getting number 237 in UCF's 3-2 tournament win over FSU.


 
In what was definitely one of the UCF's most impressive points from the 2019 season, four different Knights touched the ball, ranging from all-out, diving efforts to keep the ball alive to stuff blocks to finish things off, UCF would just not allow the Bulls to have this point.

What made it even more impressive were the circumstances as UCF was hosting USF at home in front of a sold-out crowd. The Venue was rocking after this one. There is not much more to be said as this play definitely speaks for itself. Shoutout to Marc Daniels with the beautiful call.