ORLANDO – UCF Volleyball will begin its hunt for a third straight conference title and trip to the NCAA Tournament in less than two weeks and three liberos/defensive specialists are on the roster looking to help the Knights defend their crown in 2020-21.
Last season, the Knights were tasked with filling the hole left at the libero position following the departure of UCF great and four-year starter Jordan Pingel, but graduate transfer Makenzie Kuchmaner proved to be a great find as she started all but one match and totaled almost 500 digs in her one year in the black and gold. Now, with Kuchmaner graduated as well, UCF will turn to Chloe Scheer, Arianna Arjomand and Faby Ribas to fill in.
Earlier in the week, we broke down the setters on the team. If you would like to read the that position preview, you can do so here.
Let's take a look at the liberos and defensive specialists on this year's squad:
#2 // Chloe Scheer // Freshman
Scheer comes to the Knights from Murrieta, California where she was a three-year letter winner at Vista Murrieta high school. She led the Broncos to back-to-back high school league championships in her junior and senior years and was named First Team All-League and Second Team All-State in her senior year after recording over 500 digs. Scheer was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Nike Tournament of Champions.
#4 // Arianna Arjomand // Sophomore
After spending her freshman season at Wichita State in 2019, the Orlando native Arjomand has returned to The City Beautiful to play for her hometown Knights in 2020-21. In her freshman campaign, Arjomand played in 21 matches (79 sets) for the Shockers, racking up 192 digs, including a season-high 25 digs against Tulane on October 13. She also kicked in with nine service aces and 32 assists throughout the year. Before playing at the collegiate level, Arjomand was a three-year letter winner at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, where she was selected as a team captain her senior year and helped her team to a state championship in 2017.
#11 // Faby Ribas // Senior
The most experienced player among UCF's libero/defensive specialist group, Ribas joined the Knights in 2019 after two seasons with South Florida. She played in 16 sets for the black and gold in 2019, notching three digs on the season, all of which came against Rice on August 31. In her sophomore season with the Bulls in 2018, Ribas appeared in all but two matches, playing in 106 sets and finishing with 210 digs, 21 aces and 19 assists. She posted double-digit digs 10 times on the season, including a season-high 14 digs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on August 31.
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