NEW ORLEANS – The UCF volleyball team (13-1) was able to get back on track with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22,25-20) sweep against Tulane (6-11) on Sunday afternoon at the Devlin Fieldhouse.
"We came together and improved as the match went on," said UCF head coach Todd Dagenais. "We forced them into errors. Offensively, we're a tired group from being on the road four weeks in a row. It's not easy and every week it just accumulates and gets harder and harder. We've lost some of the bounce in our step. Although, I felt we did a nice job of settling in, not pressing, and communicating well."
The Green Wave started the match strong and led throughout most of the first set, until a kill by Abby Hansen sparked a 7-1 run to knot the set at 15-15. Following a point by Tulane, UCF scored three consecutive points to pull ahead 18-16. With the score tied at 22, Hansen tallied consecutive kills and teamed with Amber Olson on a block, before McKenna Melville closed out the set with a kill to give the Knights a 25-22 first-set victory.
"We started off rough, but I'm very proud of how we came together," said Hansen. "We learned some lessons from Houston. I can't wait to go back to practice to work on the little things that we've discussed. We did a good job at over communicating what we saw whether we were on the bench or back row defense. Spreading the offense and utilizing the phrase teamism."
UCF's defense was stellar in the second set, as the Knights held Tulane to a .000 attacking percentage thanks to 20 digs and forcing the Green Wave to commit 10 errors in the frame. The teams traded points early in the set, but UCF grabbed control down the stretch. With the score knotted at 12-12, Melville tallied a kill followed by a pair of attacking errors to extend the lead to 15-12 and the Knights never trailed again in the set to win it, 25-22.
The UCF offense was firing on all cylinders in the third set with the team recording 18 kills on 38 attempts with only three errors to compile a .395 attacking percentage. In contrast, the Knights defense held Tulane to just .185 in the third set and a .124 clip for the match.
Melville was fantastic in the third set to help the Knights close out the sweep, as she notched nine kills on 15 attempts without an error to record a .600 attacking percentage in the set. An 8-1 run helped UCF pull away in the third set after the scored was tied at 12-12 to take a 20-13 advantage.
Melville tallied a match-high 18 kills to lead the UCF offense, while Hansen added 10 kills on 15 attempts to register a .600 attacking percentage with three blocks and three digs. Olson led all players with 42 assists and 11 digs, while libero Chloe Scheer also collected 11 digs.
"Ready to be back home is an understatement," said Dagenais. "There is something routine and comfortable about being back at the venue. Our fans demand the best of us. With three weeks into conference play, it's a good time to recover and reevaluate."
The Knights will be back in the Venue for a three-match home stand starting on Friday, Oct. 14, with a matchup against Temple at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
"We're really excited about being back at home," Scheer added. "Our home crowd brings a great amount of energy. Traveling for four weekends in a row is tiring, so we're ready to be back on our home court."
