PHILADELPHIA, PA. – The UCF volleyball team (14-6, 7-1) charged through Temple (5-14, 1-7) in three-straight sets on Sunday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with scores 25-9, 25-14, 25-23.
"I thought we executed well, and our blocking was back to being outstanding," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "I was really happy with the performance of the group on the floor, and I thought the group on the bench brought a lot of energy all week long and that made a big difference especially in the third set. We are staying in the moment and that's the biggest most important thing."
McKenna Melville led with 18 kills, hitting .350, and added three blocks. Anne-Marie Watson grabbed eight kills to hit .316 and five blocks. Nerissa Moravec led with six blocks on the day.
Amber Olson recorded another double-double on the season with 29 assists and 10 digs.
Dresden Pass earned her first career kill while MaKenzie Chambers picked up her first career ace.
The Knights charged through the first set without a challenge. They used a 7-0 run with two big blocks to lead 16-7 before closing out on an 8-1 run to take the first set, 25-9.
The second set was tied 4-4, but it did not last long as the Knights went on the run with the help of two aces from Melville to lead by five, 10-5. The Knights walked away from there untouched to take the set with a score of 25-14.
Temple tried to make a move early with a 3-2 lead, but UCF stayed focused and went on a 7-0 run with a pair of blocks from Watson and Kathryn Wesolich followed by two kills from Watson. The Owls brought it back and kept pressure on the Knights as they came within one point, 19-18, to keep their hopes high. Temple was not going down without a fight as they closed in again at the very end, 24-23, but Melville secured the win with a kill to win the set, 25-23, and the match.
Most notably, UCF held Temple to a .018 hitting percentage throughout the three sets.
UCF is back on a winning streak of three straight.
TODD'S THOUGHTS
[On the environment]
It's really one of the toughest places to play because you got the band who is extremely loud and very good, and they slam their feet on the seats in front of them. It can get pretty obnoxious, and I like that, but it didn't affect us at all. That's going to help us as we go forward.
[On Katelyn Grimes]
She was really good on defense, but in terms of hustle plays in keeping balls alive, this was her best match of the year. She really stood out and I think the whole team appreciates the effort and the sacrifice on her body that she is putting into this. It's painful, but she goes out there and gives it everything. Everyone respects her for what she does.
[On subbing]
We had the chance to get a lot of people in the match and that's rare during conference to be able to have that liberty. I was starting to sub after the first set and they still have to understand as subs, you have to maintain that intense speed, maintain the execution, and when they're practicing during the week, they are practicing for something.
UP NEXT
UCF will stay on the road next weekend to take on SMU on Friday, October 22, and Memphis on Sunday, October 24.
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