ORLANDO – The UCF volleyball season is less than two weeks away from kicking off its 46th season as a program, and as the Knights conduct their final pre-season practices under 13th-year head coach Todd Dagenais, three setters are on the roster ready to contribute to a championship run.
The Knights will look to fill the void left by Erin Olson, who played in all 122 of UCF's sets last season and accounted for almost 700 assists.
Let's meet this year's setters:
#3 // AmberOlson // Junior
Olson enters her third year with the Knights in 2020-21. In 2019, the Cary, Illinois native appeared in 27 of UCF's 33 matches, totaling 513 assists and 5.34 assists per set, which was second only to her sister, Erin, who graduated this December. Olson also notched the third most service aces on the squad with 25, including five in a 3-0 sweep over South Florida on November 1. Olson also chimed in with 191 digs last season to help lead the Knights to their second consecutive conference title and NCAA Tournament berth. In UCF's first round win over FSU, she dug a career-high 19 balls. Olson is currently on pace to finish with one of the top 10 highest career assists totals in UCF history.
#6 // Dresden Pass // Sophomore
Pass bursted onto the scene as a freshman for the black and gold last season, kicking off her setting career by playing in 21 matches and starting two. As the third setter on the roster in 2019, Pass finished the year with 155 assists and 52 digs. She also kicked in with 14 service aces. Pass's best game of the season came in a 3-1 victory over South Florida on October 11, where she came through with 24 assists and six digs. Prior to UCF, Pass was a team captain at Minnetonka high school, where she finished her senior season with 824 assists, 43 aces and 257 digs.
#14 // Emily Lawrence // Freshman
The newest face to the setting group, Emily Lawrence comes to the Knights from right down the road as she was a three-year letter winner at Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Fla. Lawrence helped the Huskies to a 7A Florida High School State Championship in her senior season, recording 1012 assists and earning all-conference and AAU All-American honors along the way. Lawrence also won the 16 Open title at the 2018 AAU Junior National Championship and was the runner-up at the 17 Open at the 2019 AAU Junior National Championship. She also played club for the Top Select Volleyball Academy.
SCHEDULE RELEASED
In case you missed it, the full 2020-21 volleyball schedule released in late December. UCF will kick off its season at home with an exhibition against FAU on January 22 before beginning the official regular season against the Owls the next day. You can view the full schedule here.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Stay tuned to UCF Volleyball on Facebook (/UCFVolleyball), Twitter (@UCF_Volleyball) and Instagram (@UCF.Volleyball) for the latest on the UCF volleyball team.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Download the app here.