UCF volleyball will be heading to Memphis and Ohio this coming weekend to play the Tigers and Bearcats for a pair of conference matches this Friday and Sunday.
The Knights (13-5, 6-0 AAC) are turning up the heat as they move into the 27th in NCAA RPI Rankings, which were released Monday afternoon. The Knights moved up one spot from last week when UCF debuted at 28th. After opening the American Athletic Conference season on the road with major wins against SMU and Tulsa, the Knights have stopped at nothing short of victory as they have continued to stomp competition in league play. UCF went on to beat Temple, UConn and East Carolina, earning a 3-1 come-from-behind wins over in-state rival USF. The Knights have now won 6 consecutive back-to-back wins so far this season and hope to bring that same adrenaline this weekend as they travel to take on the Memphis Tigers and the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Up first, UCF will travel to Memphis to take on the Tigers (15-5, 5-1 AAC) Friday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET. It won’t be an easy task for the Knights, as Memphis is coming into this matchup with aggressiveness. The Tigers team picked up its fourth-straight conference wins with a four-set victory over Temple this past Sunday afternoon. UCF will then go on to play Cincinnati (12-6, 4-2 AAC) early Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Knights will face tough competition in these weekend’s match-ups. Memphis players recorded at least 13 kills in the winning effort over Temple with young players rising from the ashes. Freshman Kate Gibson led the Tigers with 16 kills and dominated play over the Owls this past Sunday. Senior Lauren Wright sets the example for this teams motto as she picked up her 200th-kill of the season in the fourth set with double-digit kills this year. UCF will need to come out on top in this weekend’s matchup against the Tigers if they plan on coming out with the win.
UCF can also expect a good fight against Cincinnati, as the Bearcats defeated UConn this past Sunday. Cincinnati topped UConn in kills (51 to 45), hitting percentage, assists (49 to 38), and digs (75 to 60). Players like Junior Amelia Wegman and Senior Me’Ashah Nicholson pose a threat to UCF, bringing in 10 kills, 19 digs, four blocks and a .362 hitting percentage.
Despite tough competition, the Knights have great players leading this team to victories. Senior Loren Cory brought in 9 kills for UCF this past weekend as Senior DeLaina Sarden hit a team-best .656 for the week and averaged 3.29 kills per set to lead the Knights to a pair of conference road wins. Sarden also became the 10th player in UCF Volleyball history to reach 1,000 career kills with her final kill against Temple.
The Knights finished last weekend’s matches with 46 kills, 44 assists, 42 digs, and 6 blocks and plan on bringing that same heat into the Tigers territory this Friday night.
UCF will then head home to take on Houston, October 24, at The Venue at UCF.
