Head coach Todd Dagenais knows his team has done all they can do when it comes to making a run at a NCAA Tournament at-large bid. With a win over No. 1 USC in their pocket from earlier this year, Dagenais team will enjoy the moment and hope for at least one more match in 2011.

“At this point we have done all we can do in terms of trying to build a NCAA tournament resume, so now we just have to wait and see what happens with the rest of the country,” Dagenais said after the match. “We understand that we are probably on the outside part of the bubble, but we are really excited to be in that position of having the 20-win season and at least putting ourselves into consideration.

“This is a huge step for the program and huge step for this group of women,” Dagenais added. “It is an honor and tribute to all of the student athletes that we have had here during our tenure. So many of those players paved the road for us to have the opportunity to have such a great season. Now we get to sit back and enjoy what we’ve accomplished and hope to have the chance to accomplish more this year.”

Playing its third match in five days, the Knights showed no ill effects from the thousand-plus miles logged as it swept the Miners (19-14, 9-11) for the second time in 2011. It was also the six-consecutive win in the series as the UCF defense stifled the home team’s offensive output to just .109 for the night.

As has been the case most of the year, the first set belonged to the Knights as they burst out of the gates with a quick 5-0 run then followed that up with a 7-0 run to take a 14-4 lead. They would close out the set at 25-13 behind 12 kills and a .267 attack percentage. Both Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) and DeLaina Sarden (Lawrenceville, Ga.) totaled four kills apiece while the team swatted three total shots in the stanza.

After hoisting nine assists in the first set, senior setter Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) turned it on in the second, dishing out 16 helpers to lead the Knights to a 25-20 score. Crump was the recipient of many Vukson passes, delivering five kills to go along with her two block solos in the stanza. The Knights hit .250 overall in the frame while connecting on 17 kills.

The Miners made it interesting in the third as they held a 13-9 lead until Crump smacked down three-straight kills followed by back-to-back daggers by junior Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) and capped off the 6-0 run with a Vukson ace to take a 15-13 lead. The crucial streak sparked the Knights to go on to close out the set, 25-21, as Crump and Vilde combined for the last three kills to sweep the match.

On the evening, Crump spiked down a match-high 18 kills (.389) while Vilde joined her in double figures with 11 of her own. Sarden missed out on her 13th double-digit kills performance by one, but led the squad with a .421 hitting percentage. Vukson ended the contest with 41 assists for a 13.67 assist per set average to bring her season total to 1377, the eighth-best season total in school history.

UCF will learn its postseason fate on Sunday at 6 p.m. as the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament is announced live on ESPNU.

UCF’s win over the Cougars (16-6, 9-3) snapped the visitor’s six-match winning streak.

Head coach Todd Dagenais is thrilled by the all-around effort his team put forth Friday night.

“That was a really good team that we just beat,” Dagenais said after the match. “I’m pretty excited that we were able to execute defensively like we did. It is something that we have been working on in practice all week long. We had that gameplan in place since the moment they beat us at their place.”

UCF executed a nearly flawless first set, winning 25-11, and never giving the Cougars a chance to climb back in. Behind junior Meredith Murphy’s (Austin, Texas) strong serving, the squad won seven-straight points on her serve to set the early tone. Junior Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) blasted six of her game-high 18 kills to lead the Knights to a .443 attack percentage in the frame.

Houston would bounce back quickly in the second, countering the Knights’ matchup that they exploited in the first set. The Cougars took the frame, 25-19, and were led by seven Lucy Charuk kills. The third set was much tighter, with both teams battling to 23-all until Houston won the last two points to capture the stanza.

The Knights would fight back and force a fifth set after taking the fourth, 25-15. Vilde added six more kills, and freshman DeLaina Sarden (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and senior Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) added five block assists.

After dropping the fifth set at Southern Miss a week ago, the Knights learned their lesson and came out firing, never stepping off the gas to take the set and match, 15-5. Vilde connected on three-straight kills to open the frame, and as a team, the Black and Gold connected on 8-of-9 attacks (.778) in the stanza.

“We have battled a lot of adversity this year in the fifth set, but tonight they weren’t going to let anything happen,” Dagenais said. “We created some Houston errors through our blocking schemes, and to connect on 8-of-9 shots shows that we did our part too. Again, credit goes to the players for battling through and finding a way to come out on top.”

For the match, the Knights wreaked havoc up front on the Cougars, holding the visitors to just .177. Overall, UCF swatted 11 total shots on the evening.

The complete team effort can be seen in the stats as both Vukson and Vilde combined for double-doubles, and four members of the team wound up with double-digit kills and double-digit digs. Murphy was the Knights’ top digger, racking up 23.

UCF will return to the court Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it hosts Rice in another crucial conference tilt.

With October serving as breast cancer awareness month, the Friday night tilt against UAB will serve as the annual Dig for the Cure match with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Foundation. Fans are encouraged to add some pink to their black and gold attire when they head out to The Venue.

“If we can do a little something in sport to raise awareness about breast cancer, I think that is important,” head coach Todd Dagenais said. “Hopefully we have a big PINK weekend here at UCF between volleyball, soccer and football. Hopefully people come out and support that cause that has affected so many of us.”

Saturday’s second tussle of the weekend with UAB will be free to all those who attend as a part of UKNIGHT in PINK weekend.

In a log jam at 3-2 in Conference USA play, the Knights (11-5) are tied with four other league schools for third place. The two matches with UAB this weekend are pivotal for UCF’s chances at moving up in the conference as the Blazers own C-USA’s best record at 5-0.

“You have the team that is number one in the league back at your place and I think it gives us a great opportunity to try and create a little separation from the pack,” Dagenais said. “If you are going to do it, it has to be against a top team. This is as tough of a UAB team we’ve seen since they won the conference championship a couple of years ago.”

Since the start of league play against UTEP, freshman middle blocker DeLaina Sarden (Lawrenceville, Ga.) has been key to the Knights’ success. Owning 12 kills before the start of C-USA matches, Sarden has broken out for 37 daggers in five matches, including double-digits in three-straight tilts.

“I think the connection between her and Rachel (Vukson) has really been solidified to a point where Rachel feels comfortable with her even on not perfect passes,” Dagenais said about the rookie. “We are still adding things to her game to give her more swings at the ball.”

The Blazers bring in a balanced attack with seven members of the team in double figures since C-USA play started. Running a 6-2 offense, both setters Alison Woods (110) and Becca Howard (78) have paced the team in assists.

Last year when the two squads met in Orlando, UCF got the better of the Blazers in a thrilling five-setter that saw three Knights record double-digit kills and Vukson dish out 57 assists.

Gold Zone parking is in effect for the football game, and fans attending the soccer match can park in the free Red and Blue Zones on campus.

This honor marks the second time an athlete from UCF has received the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award, the last being Tyra Harper the week of November 17, 1997.

“It’s hard to take recognition for these awards because it is a whole team effort,” Vukson said. “I couldn’t do what I do without the hitters I pass to. As much of a personal award as it is, this is a major team effort.”

Vukson helped the Knights to a 3-0 record in last weekend’s tournament against then-No. 3 Southern California, Furman and FGCU. In that first victory over USC, the Canadian native tallied 42 assists and 10 digs to help pull off the upset. She continued her strong play in the following two matches against Furman and Florida Gulf Coast, accumulating 37 assists then 45 assists, respectively.

For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Setter of the FGCU Homewood Suites Invitational. For the week, Vukson held her opponents to just a .141 hitting efficiency while the Knights hit .344, both figures are Conference USA weekly bests.

This is the C-USA’s second AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award and seventh CVU.com honor. Tulsa junior outside hitter Tyler Henderson was the last C-USA player to be honored by both outlets.

UCF head coach Todd Dagenais couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to play USC, and is thrilled that his team was able to come through against one of the nation’s elite programs.

“We have so much respect for Southern California and their volleyball program,” Dagenais said about his former employer. “Here we are going into the match just trying to build something special so that one day we can put ourselves in the league such as a USC who has done it year in and year out. We still strive to be a program like them. Obviously it was a nice milestone for us. They are who we would like to be someday, so it was an honor to play them and we are thankful for that opportunity.”

The Knights bested the Trojans (1-2) in almost every statistical category in their first of two matches on Friday. UCF had the advantage in kills (53-31), hitting percentage (.351-.135), assists (48-27) and digs (50-35) that aided the Knights in their monumental win.

Junior Evijia Vilde (Riga, Latvia) and sophomore Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Knights in kills with 15 apiece. Vilde connected on .429 of her attempts, and Crump totaled 16.5 points in the match.

Freshman Kayla Keller (San Antonio, Texas), starting for the first time in her career, made quite a splash against the Trojans. She totaled 12 kills with a .269 hitting percentage and chipped in with 13 digs for a double-double in her collegiate debut. Senior Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) nabbed her second-straight double-double for the Knights with 42 assists and 10 digs.

Although his team put on a solid all-around performance, Dagenais knows that this victory is a total-program effort.

“This win is a total program effort,” Dagenais said. “It’s not just for the people that are here right now, but for those who were here prior to this year. There are three years of teams who paid the price for us to have an opportunity like this, and those are the people we want to include in this.”

With the Knights having to face a tough Furman squad at 5 p.m., the Knights have little time to celebrate their win, but Dagenais knows that his team will come out focused.

“We have to turn around and get ready to play Furman who beat a Big 10 team last week,” Dagenais said. “We don’t get to enjoy this win like some other sports do, but that is the nature of the beast in this sport. We will have to find a way to meet that challenge.”