Team looks to move up in C-USA ranks

The Knights volleyball team (13-9, 5-6) kicked off a split home/away weekend Friday night sweeping Tulane (8-13, 3-7) in a three-set win but completed the weekend with a 3-2 loss to Southern Miss on Sunday.

The Knights took the match with the Golden Eagles (11-12, 5-6) into five sets, but lost 21-19 in the fifth set. UCF took the first and fourth sets 23-25 and 20-25, respectively, but fell in the second and third sets 25-19 and 25-19.

In the first set, the frame went to 23-all until Angelica Crump spiked her kill and the Knights took the one-point lead.

Senior Rachel Vukson and junior Tory McCutcheon combined on a block in the very next play to assist in UCF's early 1-0 lead.

The Knights went on to drop the next two sets before coming back after being down 17-19 in the fourth and scored the next six points, plus eight more to send the match into an extra winner takes all set.

Despite the loss the Knights totaled a season-high 87 digs.

"I'm really proud of our team for coming on the road and playing well," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "We really fought in a matter that is worthy of caring the UCF Knight name. We just fell short."

On Friday night, the Knights swept the Tulane Green Wave 25-12, 25-21 and 25-17.

"It was a great team win for us tonight," Dagenais said. "They found a way to put it together after not having the best week of practice. We challenged them to dig deep and make something happen because this is a pivotal weekend for us in terms of where we finish at the end of the year."

The Conference USA matchup was a crucial win for the Knights. UCF jumped ahead to a 5-0 lead in the first set.

Vukson had a big part in the team's .385 hitting percentage and had 11 of her 28 assists in just the first set.

In the second frame, UCF had to depend on its defense, which carried the team to a 25-21 victory. The Knights came up offensively, hitting .189 with four blocks.

McCutcheon and freshman DeLaina Sarden posted a block each for UCF in that set.

In the final set, Crump led the Knights with five kills; Sarden and Vukson each had two more block assists.

Dagenais said that the game decided whether the team was going to be at the top or bottom half of the league, and beating Tulane put the Knights in a better position.

UCF returns home the the Venue when it hosts Houston and Rice on Friday and Sunday during homecoming weekend.