UCF Volleyball will be playing a pair of conference matches this weekend against Houston and Tulane this Friday and Sunday.
The Knights (15-8, 8-0 AAC) jumped four spots in this week’s NCAA rankings after sitting in 27th last week. The RPI standings rank more than 334 teams based upon their winning percentage, strength of schedule as well as opponents’ strength of schedule. The knights took home two more conference wins against Cincinnati and Memphis in last weeks matchups, improving the Knights record to 15-5 overall, and stand unblemished at 8-0 in The American.
UCF will first take on the Houston Cougars (10-10, 2-6 AAC) Friday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET at The Venue at UCF. Although UCF is projected to bring out the win, the Knights will still need to come into this matchup with aggressiveness. The Cougars team snapped its four-game skid with a 3-2 win over UConn this past Sunday afternoon. UCF will then go on to play the Tulane Green Wave (5-15, 3-5 AAC) early Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The Knights volleyball team brought in great strength and endurance in matches like Cincinnati and Memphis to bring out the win. UCF improves their offensive performance, hitting .423 as a team, with 50 kills, 48 assists, and 43 digs to sweep the Bearcats in last week’s matchup. The Knights have now won 8 consecutive back-to-back wins so far this season and hope to bring that same adrenaline this weekend as they take on Houston and Tulane in the comfort of their own stadium.
UCF can also expect a good fight against Tulane, as the Green Wave volleyball’s offense performed extraordinarily well on Sunday against Temple, hitting .378 on 82 swings with 40 kills. Tulane, posting a team season-high 20.0 blocks in a win over UConn on Friday night, only managed 3.0 team blocks at the net on Sunday, tying a season low.
Despite tough competition, the knights have great players leading this team to victories. Senior DeLaina Sarden finished with 16 kills on 19 swings. Her .789 hitting percentage is the sixth-best percentage in a match in UCF history. Sophomore Kia Bright joined Sarden with double-figure kills, finishing with 13 while hitting .440 and recorded five blocks. Junior Dana Faught has posted 13 assists and five digs as the starting setter in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky and tallied 23 assists against Middle Tennessee early on in the season.
The Knights finished last weekend’s matches against Cincinnati with 50 kills, 43 digs and 7.0 blocks and plan on bringing that same heat into this Friday night’s game against the Houston Cougars.
UCF will then face rival USF, October 29, at The Venue at UCF.
