| UCF vs. Houston Friday, Oct. 8 | 7:00 PM LIVE STATS | WATCH | UCF vs. Tulane Sunday, Oct. 10 | 1:00 PM LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO, Fla. –The UCF volleyball team (11-5, 4-0) hosts Houston and Tulane this weekend. The Knights will first take on Houston (13-3, 3-1) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. followed by Tulane (10-6, 3-1) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at The Venue in Orlando, Florida.
Both matches will have live stats and Friday's match against Houston will be streamed on ESPN+. Sunday's match against Tulane is the "Dig Pink" game in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and fans our invited to wear pink.
"There's probably four teams that are at the top [of the conference] and I think these are two of the four teams," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "It's going to be a tough, physical weekend against two extremely good teams both of which are tournament worthy. So, it's going to be nice to be at home. The fans in The Venue are always the MVP."
The Knights continued conference play last weekend on the road with a pair of wins over Wichita State and Tulsa. UCF won in five sets over Wichita State and defeated Tulsa 3-1. The Knights are now on a seven-game winning streak after winning their first four conference games and having an undefeated weekend at the Sunshine Challenge, defeating Miami, Florida Gulf Coast, and Florida Atlantic.
Nerissa Moravec had a top weekend to be named to the conference honor roll. Moravec notched 10 kills to hit .435 with zero errors and added five blocks in win over Wichita State. She continued her momentum into the match against Tulsa as she picked up 11 kills, hitting .529 and four blocks.
McKenna Melville notched a pair of double-doubles this weekend with 23 kills and 19 digs against Wichita State and 19 kills and 19 digs against Tulsa.
Amber Olson had a great weekend as she reached a major milestone with 2,000 career assists and recorded a career-high 51 assists against Wichita State.
THE FIELD
THE COUGARS
Houston (13-3, 3-1) opened their conference play with a loss against Tulsa but is now on a three-game winning streak over Wichita State, Tulane, and Temple. With a long history, the all-time series is tied between UCF and Houston at 12-12. The Knights have won the last four matchups. The last time UCF lost to Houston was in a four-set match in 2017.
The Cougars lead the AAC with 120 aces (1.94 per set) while sophomore Kate Georgiades leads with 334 digs (5.39 per set).
THE GREEN WAVE
Tulane (10-6, 3-1) is coming to Orlando after a game against South Florida on the road. The Green Wave is 2-2 on the road while 4-1 at home. The Knights lead the all-time series, 20-8, and have won the last seven matches, including last season's semifinal match of the AAC tournament where the Knights won in five sets. The last time Tulane won was in a four-set match in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2016.
TODD'S THOUGHTS
[On Houston]
I think they're the fastest rising team in the conference. It could very well be argued that they're the number one team in the conference right now. Their points per set are well over the threshold for winning every set. Offensively, they're a machine and their defensive numbers are also very strong. It's going to be one of the best teams we've played all year and they're hungry to prove that they are worthy of being champions in the conference. On paper and on video, they certainly look the part.
[On Tulane]
Tulane is experienced. They have a bunch of fourth, fifth, and sixth-year seniors. They are solid in passing and they run their offense at a very efficient clip. You really have to find ways to slow them down, but more importantly you have to find ways to outscore them because they will find ways to manufacture points.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Continue to follow UCF Volleyball on Facebook (/UCF.Volleyball), Twitter (@UCF_Volleyball) and Instagram (@UCF.Volleyball) for the latest on the UCF volleyball team.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.