UCF Volleyball Returns Home

ORLANDO, Fla. –The UCF volleyball team (16-6, 9-1) returns to The Venue this weekend to take on Tulsa Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and Wichita State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
 
The match will have live stats and can be streamed via ESPN+.
 
"This is a big weekend for us," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "We are hoping that some of our best volleyball comes out this weekend."
 
The Knights are on a five-match win streak, including four-straight road sweeps. They have won 13 straight sets this season.
 
McKenna Melville took home conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. It marks her tenth career honor and the third time this season.
 
In just six sets last weekend she amassed 41 kills while hitting .389. She tacked on 18 digs and three blocks with 43 points. The Minnesota native now leads the nation in points with 455. She also leads the conference in four other categories, including 398 kills (fourth in nation), 5.55 points per set (fifth in nation), 4.85 kills per set (seventh in nation), and 12.41 attacks per set (11th in nation).

THE FIELD
THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa (11-8, 6-4) has alternated between a win and a loss in their last five matches. The Knights trail in the all-time series 9-12 but have won the last four matches. The last time UCF lost was a five-set match in 2017. Earlier this season, the Knights defeated the Golden Hurricane in four sets at Tulsa with scores of 25-15, 27-29, 25-19, 25-17.
 
Tulsa leads the conference in digs with 18.23 per set. Leading the way in digs is freshman Marta Pecalli with 4.62 digs per set, which is good for second in the conference. Tulsa is also boasted by Kayley Cassaday who is fourth in the conference with 4.13 points per set (289 total).
 
THE SHOCKERS
Wichita State (13-6, 7-3) opened conference play with three losses, but the Shockers have not lost since playing the Knights in a five setter on October 1 in Kansas (25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 15-12). Wichita State will come to UCF on a seven-game win-streak. The Knights lead the all-time series, 3-2, winning the last three matchups.
 
The Shockers are third in the conference in digs with 16.05 per set (1,236 total) while Kayce Litzau is second in the conference with 10.00 assists per set (690 total).
 
Friday's match is 'Bob Ross Knight,' fans are welcome to come early to paint before the match.

TODD'S THOUGHTS
[On playing Tulsa again]
It didn't look like it was close last time, but it was right down to the end. If they would have forced the game to five, it would have got awfully interesting. They are still one of the top teams in the conference and this is going to be a really important match for us to try to maintain for what our goals are this year.
 
[On playing Wichita State again]
I knew they were going to get good. The freshmen that were still learning are finally putting it together. He's done a great job with them. They took us to five at their place and I don't think either team played their best match by far.
 
[On being back home]
It seems like we've been on the road forever. A four-match road streak is painful. I'm happy and fortunate that we are where we are at, 9-1, at the turn heading into the second half of conference at home against two teams that are in the very next pack.  

FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
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