It’s been a busy summer for UCF Volleyball coach Todd Dagenais, hosting camps and compiling a competitive team for the 2017-18 season.
After earning a 23-10 record last season, the Knights will introduce four new freshmen: defensive specialist Kat Felice, setter Alex Fisher and outside hitters Kristina Fisher and Anne-Marie Watson.
The Knights will also host sophomore setter Erin Olson, who comes from Cary, Illinois. Felice and Watson join the team from Florida high schools, Fletcher and Hagerty.
Other players to look out for include redshirt senior Kia Bright and sophomore Alli Sabol. As an outside hitter, Bright recorded 333 kills and a career best 379 digs last year. Sabol docked 247 kills, third best on the team, while hitting a .266 hitting percentage, the second best for the team.
With the most recent graduation also came the departure of two powerhouse outside hitters, Jale Hervey and Taylor Gallart, leaving Bright and Sabol as the leaders on the team. Defensively, junior Jordan Pingel had 554 digs in 2016 and will have to keep up that momentum going into this season.
Despite the changes made thus far for the team, there are no new middle hitters being added this season. However, with standout performances from redshirt senior Taylor Wickey and Jeanna Westney in the 2016 season, Dagenais didn’t need to fill many slots.
Sophomore middle blocker Nerissa Moravec and sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Laché Harper didn’t play in their first year, but may have a chance to see some action in the 2017-18 campaign.
