UCF Vs. Stanford, WVB, 9/02/08

September 2nd, 2008
The Venue at UCF, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1568, (sold out)
ORLANDO, Fla. - Outside hitters Jeanine Williams and Erin Campbell led the way for the lady knights in kills and team attacks for the Lady Knights, however, the team as a whole led in total errors. The Knights welcomed in a stacked Stanford team on Tuesday night with the promise of guaranteed USF football tickets on Saturday, but that can’t account for the standing room only crowd in which close to one thousand people were turned away. The atmosphere in the gym was electric as the team bumped, set, and killed to chants of “U-C-F” and taunted the number two Cardinal with the same chants of “Go-Back-Home.” Unfortunately, after losing three sets in a sweep, (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) it was the crowd at the newly renovated Venue, and the Lady Knights, wishing Stanford would never have left California.
Of course, the Cardinal remembered to bring its superstars-- a whopping 10 letter winners from its 2007 campaign, including 2 times AVCA All-American Cynthia Barboza, and the 2007 National AVCA Player of the Year Foluke Akinradewo. In short order, the Knights were dispatched by a nearly perfect Stanford team; they committed only six errors the entire game, whereas the Knights had twenty-four. UCF might as well have brought a Caterpillar digger to the game, as Kristen Petrasic continued to dominate defensively for the Knights. In the end, no matter what the score, the girls were all smiles knowing they had stood up to a team composed of all stars and Olympians, and competed valiantly.
Both Campbell and Williams were available after the game, where they told the media they “Had nothing to lose” and were out there just “having fun”. They played hard and hung in against a tough squad and hope that fans will take this game and realize just how fun of a sport it is to watch, and hope that they can duplicate the attendance tonight through the season. Head coach Todd Dagenais, in his first season of coaching at UCF, added; “…this team showed amazing height for a new program…” and also noted that it “showcases a new era for our team. It was great to see them just go out there and play.” The Lady Knights will take their experience on the road next to face another ranked opponent, number 15 Oregon at the upcoming tournament in Kansas.
On another game note, the 1978 National Champion UCF women’s team was honored between the first and second sets; members of the team were present and cheered on their Alma Mater from the sidelines. A banner for their achievement to be displayed in the Venue is currently in the works.