ORLANDO - The Knights are adding a new member to the squad as the team announced the addition of transfer Claudia Dillon to the roster on Friday.
Dillon, who is listed at six-feet, two-inches and is a Evergreen, Colorado native, comes to UCF from the University of Missouri, where she spent her freshman (2019) and sophomore (2020-21) seasons playing middle blocker for the Tigers.
"We are really excited to add Claudia to our team," said head coach Todd Dagenais. "She is a high-quality person, a great teammate, and wants to be a part of a culture where she can grow even stronger. As successful as she has been as an attacker, Claudia has a growing desire to work on all facets of her game, and we can't wait to get her in the gym."
As a sophomore in 2020-21, Dillon was a major contributor to a Mizzou squad that posted a 16-8 overall record and reached the second round in the NCAA Tournament. Dillon played in 82 of the Tigers' 91 total sets throughout the season, ranking third on the team with .76 blocks per set, fourth with 1.78 kills per set and hit a team-high .337 (min. 100 attacks).
Dillon's best game of the season came on March 20 against Texas A&M, where she tallied 11 kills and added six blocks, both career-highs, to guide the Tigers to the 3-2 win over the Aggies. Dillon also notched six kills and two blocks to help guide the Tigers to a sweep over South Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"Claudia comes to UCF as a full-time starter from an SEC program," continued Dagenais. "She has played against the type of teams that we need to play in the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis.
"The addition of Claudia will solidify our middle hitting group, which has already been one of the top producing groups in the country, and she will make it even more solid and competitive for several years to come."
In her freshman year, Dillon appeared in nine matches with seven starts. She finished the season with 32 kills, three solo blocks, 15 total blocks and 41.0 points. She is currently pursuing business management major with a minor in hospitality.
Dillon is the fourth new addition to the to the UCF Volleyball 2021 class, joining incoming freshmen Heidi Bonde (Outside Hitter/Minooka, Ill.), Maddie Kinney (Outside Hitter/Loveland, Colo.) and Katelyn Grimes (Libero/Lebanon, Ohio).
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