Thursday, September 2
UCF 3, Clemson 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18)/No. 24 South Carolina 3, UCF 0 (25-18, 25-14, 28-26)
UCF split a pair of matches on day one of the South Carolina Palmetto Showdown, beating Clemson in four sets before being swept by host No. 24 South Carolina. The Knights beat the Tigers 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18 but fell to the Gamecocks by an 18-25, 14-25, 26-28 score.
McKenna Melville hit .357 with a team-high 19 kills to pace UCF in the Clemson win, with Tali Marmen narrowly missing a double-double with 13 kills and eight digs. Amber Olson chipped in 44 assists and six kills for the Knights. Melville shined in the South Carolina matchup with 22 kills and seven digs.
VCU 3, Tulane 2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9)/Florida State 3, Tulane 0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-13)
Tulane suffered a pair of setbacks on the opening day of tournament action at Florida State, losing a heartbreaker in five sets to VCU before losing in straight sets to Florida State. The Green Wave was unable to put away a 2-0 advantage in match one with VCU before falling 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 23-25, 9-15 after going the distance. The Seminoles won a tough 25-23 first set before cruising 25-13, 25-13 to cap the sweep.
Michelle Urquhart went for 15 kills, 16 digs and contributed five service aces for Tulane in the VCU match. Anna Davis hit a team-high .364 to finish the opener with 10 kills. Urquhart and Kayla Dinkins shared the team lead with 10 kills each against Florida State.