DALLAS — The UCF volleyball team (10-0) defeated SMU (8-6) in three sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) on Sunday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
"It was a fun match and that was the largest crowd I've ever seen at SMU," said UCF head coach Todd Dagenais. "I thought our steadiness, ability to stay in the moment, and just play really well made a huge difference. Overall, our maturity and ability to handle tight situations is what got us out of any trouble."
The first set started out with the teams' trading points, which featured seven ties. After the 10-10 tie, the Knights scored consecutive points and never trailed again in the set to win it 25-21.
In set two, UCF never trailed as the Knights raced out to a 9-3 lead following a kill from Claudia Dillon. Four unanswered points helped UCF grab an 18-11 advantage after a kill from McKenna Melville and the Knights led by at least six points the remainder of the set.
SMU started fast in the third set, as the Mustangs looked to avoid the sweep. A 5-0 run extended SMU's lead, 12-7, but UCF answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead for the first time in set three, 17-14. Ultimately, UCF locked down the lead to earn its second conference sweep.
"Set three we were off balance, instead of them chasing us we were chasing them," Dagenais said. "Dresden Pass went back and served the 7-0 run which helped us gain our momentum back."
Once again, Melville led the offense with 18 kills along with five block assists and 10 digs.
Dillon helped the offense out with nine kills, hitting for .615 on the day. She also recorded six block assists.
Amber Olson tallied a match-high 35 assists and Chloe Scheer led all players in the match with 12 digs.
The Knights will host Wichita State on Friday, Sept. 30, at the Venue with first serve slated for 7 p.m.