ORLANDO, Fla. - The UCF volleyball team opened their season up with a 3-1 loss to No. 24 Georgia Tech (25-17, 24-26, 15-25, 23-25) at the UCF Challenge in the Venue. The match was a hard-fought nail-biter that saw a lot of momentum swings back and forth.
"I think we went toe-to-toe with a team that is not just a top-24 team, but a top 10 in my opinion," said head coach Dagenais, "We went out there and battled with them. I thought if we were to go and win that second set...I think it's a completely different outcome. It just goes to show a couple of percentage points in this game can be the difference between a win or a loss."
McKenna Melville led the Knights with 19 kills while Tali Marmen added 13 on the night. The brick wall team of Nerissa Moravec and Anne-Marie Watson notched eight and seven total blocks, respectively. Amber Olson added 40 assists and Chloe Scheer recorded 19 digs.
In the first set, the Knights led early and often. UCF led the entire set and used an early run to jump out to a commanding 11-4 lead. The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit to 15-12, but the Knights responded in a big way by going on a 5-0 run, with three of the kills coming from McKenna Melville. They rode that run all the way to a 25-17 win to take set one.
In set two, Georgia Tech and UCF traded blows back and forth in a seesawing affair. The Yellow Jackets got out to a 9-5 lead before the Knights quickly made it 9-8. They would later take a 15-13 lead. They then led by as many as 20-17 before the Yellow Jackets tied things up at 20. Tied at 24, Georgia Tech would score two straight points to take the second set 26-24.
Set three saw the Knights battle back and forth, with Georgia Tech taking an 11-10 lead. But, the Yellow Jackets used a 15-4 run to win the set 25-15.
Set four was a thriller. The Knights jumped out to a 9-4 lead early one. Georgia Tech would fight back, however. They cut the Knights lead to one, making it 15-14. Down 22-18, the Yellow Jackets scored seven of the last eight points to claim the third set and the game.
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UP NEXT
UCF will look to bounce back with two games tomorrow, beginning with St. John's at 11:00 AM followed by No. 12 Penn State at 7:30 PM at The Venue.