STATE COLLEGE, Penn. – After sweeping Yale in three sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-17), the UCF women's volleyball team has advanced to the second round of the NCAA volleyball tournament. The Knights will face Penn State on Saturday at 6:30 P.M. The match, taking place at Rec Hall, will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Knights continued their dominant season by taking down Yale on Friday night in straight sets. This was just the second sweep that the Black and Gold has accomplished in their NCAA tournament history. The only previous sweep notched by UCF was back in 1997, where they took down Clemson in three sets in the first round.
The front row showed why they deserve to be in the tournament with an amazing performance. The AAC's Player of the Year, McKenna Melville, once again had a phenomenal night, leading the team with 14 kills and 15 digs. This result secured her 12th double-double of the season and her 84th of her career. Claudia Dillon also had herself a night collecting seven kills on eight swings, a .875 kill percentage. UCF also combined to record 21 total blocks, their fourth highest total of the season.
This will be the second straight round two appearance for the Black and Gold and the fifth all-time. Last year, they dropped in the second round to UCLA in five sets. If they defeat Penn State on Saturday evening, they will become the first ever Knights team to advance to the NCAA volleyball tournament Sweet Sixteen.
THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State (25-7), which is ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, received an at-large bid to the event and will play in the tournament for the 42nd consecutive season dating back to the first time it was held in 1981. It is the only women's volleyball program in the country to appear in every NCAA Division I Tournament.
UCF has met Penn State on two occasions, sweeping on a neutral court in 2008, and dropping 3-0 last year at home.
Graduate student Kashauna Williams leads the Nittany Lions with 3.42 kills per set. Junior middle blocker Allie Holland is averaging 1.37 blocks per set, the 27th-best figure in the country. Overall, PSU is 11th nationally in blocks per set.