ORLANDO – UCF volleyball opens the season on the road at the UAlbany Volleyball Classic in Albany, New York from August 25-27. The Knights will kick off the season on Friday against Navy at 4:30 p.m. followed by Syracuse on Saturday and will finish out the tournament against UAlbany on Sunday.
The Matchup
This will be the first matchup against Navy in program history. The Black and Gold’s last matchup against Syracuse (9/2/22) and UAlbany (9/7/19) was in the UCF Challenge with a 3-0 win.
The Jenny Maurer Era
Jenny Maurer was named head coach of UCF volleyball in May 2023. She is no stranger to UCF, she has been a member of the coaching staff since 2016. Her resume includes nine years as a Division I head coach --Lehigh (4) and Bradley (5). Two-time DIII National Champion (1995 and 1996) as a player at Washington University in St. Louis.
Rounding Out The Staff
Maurer added two associate head coaches to her staff. Jason Tanaka, 25-year collegiate coaching veteran with Big 12 experience (Baylor, TCU). Michaela Franklin, former Big 12 volleyball champion (Kansas State) and nationally recognized recruiter. Erin Olson stays on the staff as the Director of Operations.
Calling All Newbies
The Knights have added a total of seven newcomers to the roster. Four of those are freshmen and the other three are transfers. The freshmen include Avah Armour, Annika Sokol, Sasha Cohen and Doga Ocal. Three out of the four freshmen are from Colorado and Ocal is from Turkey. The transfer trio includes Lauren Clark (FGCU/ Penn State), Britt Carlson (Washington State) and Megan Holland (South Carolina).
Bringing ‘Em Back
The Knights return eight from the previous season. Key returners for UCF include Abby Hansen, Claudia Dillon, Chloe Scheer, Emily Wilson and Heidi Bonde who all saw playing time last year.
Five-Peat AAC Champions
UCF volleyball ends an era in the American with five consecutive championships. The Knights started their inaugural season in the American in 2013 and ended in 2023 accounting for 11 overall championship titles.
New Kids On The Block
UCF officially joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023. The Knights enter the Power 5 as the youngest school, having been founded in 1963 to supply NASA with engineers. UCF joins the conference with Cincinnati, Houston and BYU to push the conference to 13 volleyball programs. The Black and Gold are 38-36 against current Big 12 schools. The Knights were ranked No. 9 in the Big 12 preseason poll. In the AVCA Preseason poll the Knights were one of seven Big 12 schools that were ranked or receiving votes.
2022 Season Recap
The Knights were once again among the best in the nation in 2022, finishing the season with a 28-2. overall record, going 19-1 in conference play. UCF made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third time under former head coach Todd Dagenais after defeating Yale 3-0 in UCF’s first sweep in NCAA Tournament play. The 2022 squad was led by McKenna Melville, Abby Hansen, Amber Olson and Claudia Dillon. Each received the honor of being named First Team All-Conference for their efforts throughout the 2022 season. The award marked Melville’s fifth consecutive and third for Player of the Year. Olson was also tabbed Setter of the Year for the second year in a row. Kari Zumach earned Second Team All-Conference for her offensive efforts.
Knights In The Rankings
UCF finished the season ranked in four categories in the top 10 of the NCAA.
- 2nd in assists per game with 13.70
- 3rd in hitting percentage with .315
- 4th in win-loss percentage with .933
- 5th in kills per set with 14.65
Home Court Advantage
The Knights boasted a 13-0 record at home in 2022. UCF has only lost four games at home in the past three seasons. In 2022, the Black and Gold won the AAC Championship at home in a five-set thriller against Houston for a share of the championship title. With the move into the Big 12, season tickets have been selling like crazy. The Knights have sold a record number of season tickets.