Last season started off so promising for Todd Dagenais and his UCF volleyball team.
They began the year 8-2 through their first 10 matches and looked to take down rival South Florida at home to win their ninth match of the season. They hit a wall, getting shut out 3-0, the first loss of a seven-game losing streak. Then the injures hit and they couldn’t keep up with some of the tougher opponents during the season.
This year, Dagenais hopes for the same start without the drop off. Here are five things to look out for in the Knights schedule for the 2010 season.
1. Road warriors?
Twelve of the Knights’ first 15 matches come on the road to begin the season and with an absence of senior leadership, this could be could be an issue.
UCF will have to battle some in-state talent to start the season with Florida Gulf Coast and Bethune-Cookman in a tournament in Ft. Meyers, but that will be just a small test to the young Knights. They will travel to North Carolina to take on UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Greensboro and South Carolina State before returning home for a three-match set.
The test will be to see how well this team starts the first six matches of the season, because when they return home they face one of the best teams in the nation in Baylor between matches with Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville. UCF then hits the road for six more matches, including the first two matches of conference play at Marshall.
2. Entertaining top talent
The Knights will take on some of the top teams in the nation from last season, as they play five teams that posted 22 or more wins in 2009.
That includes Baylor, which the Knights will see come to The Venue on Sept. 10. Baylor finished the season ranked No. 20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after posting a 24-10 record.
Last season, the Knights played Baylor on the road and ended up getting swept 3-0. It marked the first loss of the season for the Knights.
Southern Miss, Tulsa, Rice and Marshall are the other 22-plus win teams UCF will tangle with this season. The Golden Eagles and the Golden Hurricane topped the conference last season with 14-2 and 13-3 records in C-USA play, respectively.
Check out the UCF volleyball team’s schedule here.
3. Better shot at C-USA title?
This will be the first season the Knights will not have the chance to participate in the C-USA Championship. They decided not to sponsor a league tournament and rather added four more conference games to each schedule.
This bodes well for the Knights, seeing as they have not had success in the conference tournament in the past. Now they have a chance to focus more on their in-season matches and, if they happen to improve this offseason, have a good shot at making some noise in conference play.
With the Knights being so young, momentum will be key in them possibly capturing the crown, but they will have to go through some tough teams on their way to the top of the conference.
4. Crucial C-USA home stretch
The ladder weeks of the season will prove even more crucial for the Knights now with the absence of a conference tournament.
Seven of the Knights final 12 conference matches are at home to end the season, which could be a huge momentum push for the team to make a run at a title. It will be interesting to see how close UCF is in the standings and if that home stretch will have an impact on the final results.
5. Key game to watch
Of course, it will be when Baylor comes to town on Sept. 10. Size-wise, they are lengthy and have a lot of power with the outside hitters. It will be interesting to see if the Knights match up better with a bigger lineup in 2010.
