ORLANDO, Fla. – For the fourth year in a row and fifth time overall, the Knights are the outright American Athletic Conference Champions after a Houston loss on Sunday afternoon and secures the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament for the fourth-straight season.
UCF secured the regular league championship by climbing three matches clear of Houston (14-4) in the standings with just two matches left to play in the regular season. The Knights clinched the top record in the conference standings following a sweep over Temple on Friday night to move to 17-1 in the American.
"First of all, credit goes to Houston for being such a dominant team this year and for being such a competitive conference mate this year," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "They did everything they could to put themselves in position. I keep my fingers crossed that they still get into the NCAA tournament because they certainly are a tournament team and deserve it.
"This could have played out so many different ways, but the least likely way was going to be that Houston would lose today and we would win the championship on a day we don't play. We were thoroughly prepared to go out and have to beat one more team on the road to claim the outright championship. But the work we have put into this and the work we are going to put into this becomes even more important now knowing that we're in the NCAA tournament. Now we are fighting for seeding, we are fighting for playoff positioning, we are fighting for a lot, so we have to play well next week.
"While we may no longer have the goal of a championship at the top of the list, the goal now is to perform to give us the best pathway going forward. The excitement is knowing our season is extending."
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— UCF Volleyball (@UCF_Volleyball) November 21, 2021
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The marks the fourth-straight title as the Knights won the regular season championship in 2018 after a perfect 18-0 record in conference play and winning The American volleyball tournament in each of the past two season.
UCF was also the regular season conference champion in 2014, making it its fifth overall.
The Knights clinch an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will find out more about what their future holds and who they will be playing following the NCAA Championship Selection Show, on Sunday, November 28. Stay tuned for more details.
UP NEXT
The Knights will close out the regular season on the road at Tulane on Wednesday night, November 24, and at Houston on Friday night, November 26.
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