Season starts with straight set sweep at FGCU

Todd Dagenais knew that a road tournament on the opening weekend of the season would be a great test for his young volleyball team. For the girls' first assignment at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament, they passed with flying colors.

The Knights started the season 3-0 after winning nine straight sets against Bethune Cookman, Florida Gulf Coast and Houston Baptist. They joined FAU as the two teams to go undefeated over the weekend in Fort Myers.

Coach Dagenais liked the fast start he saw from his team.

"We're very proud and pleased with the way that the team responded this weekend," Dagenais said. "You always worry about opening weekends, especially when you're very young and a pretty inexperienced team like we are. To go on the road and collect three wins in the fashion that we did is something that we can definitely build on."

To complete the undefeated weekend, the Knights took down the Wildcats 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-15). Junior Kristin Fisher contributed 16 kills and true freshman Marie Reiterova played in her first match and recorded 35 assists. In the win, UCF moved to 17-0 all-time against Bethune Cookman.

Fisher made the all-tournament team along with sophomores Evija Vilde and Meredith Murphy. Fisher, Dagenais said, played almost flawless volleyball all weekend.

"[Fisher] was outstanding all weekend. For her to be able to step in and play the leadership role off the court and the muscle on the court really makes her a special athlete for us. She did not play poorly at many points all weekend long."

UCF swept both Houston Baptist 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-17) and FGCU 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-22) on Friday. Tulsa transfer Rachel Vukson got the nod at setter after a tough preseason competition and responded with 77 assists over the two first-day matches.

With the opening win over Houston Baptist, the Knights have now won their opener in each of Dagenais' first three seasons. Freshman Roxy Mendez played in all three sets of her first collegiate match and was the only true freshman used on Friday from the Knights top-100 recruiting class. Mendez recorded six digs and two assists in the victory over the Huskies.

"We knew Roxy was going to be a pretty special player we just didn't think it was going to happen so quickly," said Dagenais. "She played every single game for us all weekend which is a great tribute to her preparation for the season."

Taking down FGCU in the nightcap was a highlight for the Knights. The Eagles packed 1,041 fans into Alico Arena as part of their "Welcome Week" festivities, and UCF fought from behind in both the second and third sets to pull off the sweep. With an FGCU lineup that featured five seniors, Dagenais knew his team was fortunate to get a three set victory.

"We would have been really excited if it was a five game victory. This is where inexperience can really catch up to a team, on the road, hostile crowd, you really never get comfortable. You have to basically train as if there are 14 of you that are all together against everybody else in the gym."

The 3-0 start by the Knights matches last season when the team got out to a 5-0 mark. Next, the team will travel to Wilmington, N.C. for the UNC-W Hilton Garden Inn/Courtyard by Marriott Classic. The team takes on UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Greensboro and South Carolina State Sept. 3-4.

"We want to use this as a great catapult as we head into the next weekend," said Dagenais. "Again we have a trip where we are going to go into a hostile gym. But we're looking forward to that. I think this is going to be a team that's going to thrive on that kind of adversity."