| UCF at Cincinnati Friday, Nov. 5 | 6:30 PM ET LIVE STATS | WATCH | UCF at East Carolina Sunday, Nov. 7 | 12:00 PM ET LIVE STATS | WATCH |
ORLANDO, Fla. –The UCF volleyball team (18-6, 11-1) will go on the road this weekend, taking on Cincinnati (13-7, 8-4) Friday night at 6:30pm in Cincinnati, Ohio and East Carolina (8-13, 4-8) Sunday afternoon at 12:00pm ET in Greenville, North Carolina.
Both matches will have live stats and will be streamed.
"It should be a good weekend," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "It's going to be a different kind of challenge than we faced this year, but it's going to be another one of those big challenges."
Last week, the Knights earned a pair of wins over Tulsa and Wichita State in straight sets at home. UCF is now on a seven-game winning streak and is at the top of the conference with an 11-1 American record.
McKenna Melville was honored as the league's Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after leading the team in their undefeated weekend. Melville notched 39 kills (6.50 per set) with only two errors and hit .536 in just six sets. She also grabbed 23 digs (3.83 per set), two blocks and 40 points (6.67 per set). This award marks Melville's 11th-career honor.
Claudia Dillon was also named to the honor roll this week after she put up nine blocks (1.50 per set) in only six sets. Dillon added 19 kills to hit .536, two aces, and 25.5 points over the weekend.
THE FIELD
THE BEARCATS
Cincinnati (13-7, 8-4) is 5-1 at home while they are 6-4 on the road. The Bearcats split last weekend with a loss against SMU and a win over Memphis. The Bearcats lead the conference with 13.00 assists per set (1,053 total) and 13.79 kills per set (1,117 total) while the Knights are second in both categories. The Knights lead the all-time series, 13-8, and have won the last four matches, including a sweep earlier this season. The last time UCF lost to Cincinnati was in a four-set match in 2019 at The Venue.
THE PIRATES
East Carolina (8-13, 4-8) is coming to Orlando after a game against South Florida on the road. The Pirates are 5-4 at home while they are 1-8 on the road. Last weekend, the Pirates dropped both matches to Memphis and SMU, but had a recent big win over Houston in five sets. With a long history, the Knights lead the all-time series, 22-10, and have won the last seven matches. The last time East Carolina won was in 2017 in Greenville, North Carolina.
TODD'S THOUGHTS
[On playing Cincinnati]
It's always tough to play in their arena, they always have a nice student section band, fans, and the facility itself is a gorgeous place to play in. When you look at Cincinnati, they're a prolific offense in that they have so many options. They run their offense and defense very similar to how we run. They had their share of success in the last four years, and they're still fighting to get an at-large bid or maybe trying to pull into a tie in the conference. So, they have a lot they're playing for and a lot they are going to fight for.
[On playing ECU]
They are winning matches right now whereas they weren't necessarily doing that earlier. They're starting to put the pieces together and starting to find the chemistry that they want on the floor. And that is one of those dangerous teams.
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