UCF Opens Conference Play Against ECU and Cincinnati

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF volleyball team (7-5) opens conference play this weekend, taking on East Carolina (4-5) Friday night at 7:00pm and Cincinnati (5-3) on Sunday at 1:00pm at The Venue in Orlando, Florida.
 
Both matches will have live stats and be streamed via ESPN+.
 
"It's going to be another weekend for us to take the race car out and drive it around and see what it can do because we are far from being a November team yet," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "I like where we are in terms of depth and how we have been able to overcome injuries. We are still focusing on being the best team we can be."
 
UCF went 7-5 during the non-conference season and is on a three-game winning streak after an undefeated weekend at the Sunshine Challenge, defeating Miami, Florida Gulf Coast for the second time this season, and Florida Atlantic. The Knights also took down another in-state rival of Florida State in a five-setter at home, topped Clemson on the road, and St. John's earlier in the season. UCF put up a strong fight against other big competition against Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Penn State.
 
Since 2018, UCF has a 40-2 record in conference play and has won three-straight conference titles. Last season, the Knights went undefeated in conference play, 8-0. In 2019, the Knights went 14-2 after dropping a pair of regular season matches to Cincinnati, but they came back to beat the Bearcats in the AAC tournament championship game. UCF also went undefeated in conference in the 2018 season, going 18-0.
 
Before the Friday night match against ECU, there will be a 2020 American Athletic Conference Championship ring ceremony and NCAA banner reveal.
 
THE FIELD
THE PIRATES
ECU (4-5) is coming off its first weekend at home, going 2-1, while they are 0-3 when on the road. The Pirates have not played a match this fall that has gone past three sets. The Knights lead the all-time series over the Pirates 21-10 and have won nine of the last 10 meetings. The last time UCF lost to ECU was in 2017 at Greenville, North Carolina in four sets.
 
THE BEARCATS
Cincinnati (5-3) ended its non-conference schedule on a four-game winning streak over RV Notre Dame, Bowling Green, Xavier, and Miami (OH). The Bearcats also took down RV Texas State earlier in the season. The Knights lead the all-time series, 12-8, and swept the Bearcats in the last two meetings during the 2020 season. The last time Cincinnati won was in a four-set match in 2019.
 
Maria Mallon was co-offensive player of the week with Melville, and she leads the Bearcats with 124 kills (3.54 per set) and is second in digs with 131.  
 
DAGENAIS DIALOGUE
[On ECU]
They have been on a rebuilding path, and I think Adler has done a very admirable job of putting them on a steady growth plan and getting them competitive again. They have some good wins this. I'm not sure anyone has seen the real ECU yet and I'm sure we will be the first to see them.
 
[On Cincinnati]
I have a lot of respect for head coach Molly. The team can come at you in so many different ways. Their passing game and being in system are their strengths, so our blockers are going to have to step up and slow down the attack. Mallon is dangerous at the net, she can score three points from the serving line, get you out of system, and she plays like a libero. They are going to be a tremendous challenge.
 
[On starting conference play]
Even though we are now in conference season, we are still in preseason mentality of what is working right for us, where are our deficits, and what do we need to fix. We are a lot farther than we were in the second week, but we are still figuring out who we are and what we are capable of. It is going to be a really competitive season.
 
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