UCF Press Release

November 24, 2002

ORLANDO - Junior outside hitter Leyre Santaella Sante slammed a match-best 24 kills and added 20 digs to lead UCF to the Atlantic Sun Championship with a thrilling five-game victory over Georgia State Saturday afternoon at the UCF Arena in Orlando. Santaella Sante was brilliant in the deciding game, leading UCF to the 30-27, 26-30, 29-31, 30-27, 17-15 victory. For her efforts, she was named the A-Sun Championship MVP as UCF secured the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Volleyball Championships.

The A-Sun title was No. 10 for UCF, the most of any A-Sun school. The title was also the second consecutive for the Golden Knights.

"It was a great match that came down to the wire and it was a fantastic match by both teams," commented UCF head coach Meg Colado. "Fortunately, it ended well in our favor."

Santaella Sante joined an elite list of players that have earned the A-Sun Player-of-the-Year award and the tournament MVP honor in the same season. She is the fourth player to do so, and the third Golden Knight. Tyra Harper accomplished the honor in 1997 while Emily Bridson won both awards in 1993.

"In some ways I am really happy about winning the MVP, but I also think it was a team effort and some of my teammates probably deserved this honor more than me," stated Santaella Sante.

Georgia State came out strong in the opening game, jumping out to a quick 9-4 advantage. UCF would close the lead to two at 16-14, but the Lady Panthers regained control and extended their lead to 22-17. Georgia State junior middle blocker Amanda Sapp was one big reason for the Panthers' fast start, as she had six total kills in the opening frame.

After a UCF timeout, the Golden Knights ripped off seven of the next nine points to tie the match at 24. The Golden Knights continued their momentum as junior setter Jenny Frank hammered home a kill to give UCF its first lead of the match at 26-25. After the Lady Panthers tied the contest at 26, UCF scored the game's next three points highlighted by a kill by freshman middle blocker Chaz Arah and a block from Arah and Santaella Sante. GSU scored once again, but freshman outside hitter Emily Watts slammed her sixth kill of the game to give UCF game one, 30-27.

Game two featured UCF getting off to the fast start, opening the game with a 10-5 lead. The Golden Knights continued to hold the lead throughout the game until the Lady Panthers tied the contest at 18. GSU finally regained the lead at 20-19 and extended it to 22-19 on a kill by junior outside hitter Molly Sapp. After a UCF timeout, the Lady Panthers continued their momentum and scored the eight of the game's final 12 points to win game two, 30-26. Molly Sapp was brilliant for GSU in the game, finishing with seven kills.

The Lady Panthers used their momentum from the game two win to cruise out to an early 12-4 lead in game three. UCF climbed back into the game, going on a 12-4 run to tie the contest at 16. Each team exchanged the next two points to make the score 18-18, before UCF took its first lead of game three at 19-18 on a GSU hitting error. From that point on, UCF controlled the tempo and went on a 7-2 run to take control of the game at 26-20. The Golden Knights looked to be control and had match point at 29-27, before GSU stormed back to win the game's final four points 31-29.
In game four, GSU once again gained control from the beginning and raced out to a 9-3 lead. UCF worked its way back into the game, going on a 6-3 run to close the gap to 12-9, GSU. The Lady Panthers responded with a 7-1 run of their own to take control of the game, 19-11. The game of momentum turned back to the side of the Gold and Black, as UCF closed the GSU lead to 23-22. Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Stoutjesdyk was clutch down the stretch for UCF, firing home two kills and Watts came up with a critical ace to tie the match at 23 for UCF. The game was deadlocked again at 26, before UCF finished with a 4-1 run to win the game, 30-27.

In the fifth and deciding game, UCF gained the early lead by scoring the first three points to take a 3-0 lead. GSU came right back with four straight points to take its first lead of the game at 4-3. The two teams then staged a tightly contested game that featured seven ties before UCF took an 11-9 lead. Watts was sensational, coming with a kill and block to give UCF the two-point lead at 11-9. The two teams traded points to make the score 12-10 before Amanda Sapp had a kill for GSU to make the score 12-11. Both teams went back and forth, with the score tied at 15, before UCF took control and finished the match. Santaella Sante slammed home a kill for match point for the Golden Knights and then Arah and Watts combined on a block to clinch the championship for UCF.

Frank had a tremendous match for UCF, finishing with her fifth triple-double of the season. The all-tournament selection ended the match with 13 kills, 58 assists and 12 kills for the winners. Joining Santaella Sante and Frank on the all-tournament team for UCF was Watts. The Wichita, Kansas native poured in 19 kills, 14 digs and five blocks for the winners. Junior Lindsey Whalen was also strong on defense for UCF, finishing the match with 25 digs.

The Lady Panthers were led by their two all-tournament selections, Randi Van Dam and Molly Sapp. Sapp registered 23 kills for GSU while Van Dam added 14 kills and nine total blocks.

UCF closes out the regular season next weekend as they host the UCF Thanksgiving Tournament. The Golden Knights play host to Kentucky Friday at 7 p.m. and Arkansas Saturday at 7 p.m. in the UCF Arena.

Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team
Leyre Santaella Sante, Jr., OH (MVP)    UCF
Jenny Frank, Jr., S            UCF
Emily Watts, Fr., OH            UCF
Randi Van Dam, Sr., MB            Georgia State
Molly Sapp, Jr., OH            Georgia State
Radka Dimitrova, Jr., OH            Jacksonville
 

Return to Home