The American Athletic Conference opener provided a touch of revenge Friday night, as UCF repaid the 2012 loss USF handed to the Knights with a three-set win at UCF, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.

The Bulls (6-9 Overall, 0-1 The American) added a strong night from right side hitter Ciara Brown to the continuously steady performances from middle blockers Andrea Rodriguez Gomez and Jennica Mullins, but could not answer for UCF's 17-dig advantage as the best-digging team in the conference edged the second-best digging team in each of the three sets.

The Knights turned their defensive advantage into an offensive one, dropping 49 kills to USF's 37, and surviving a 29-error night to improve to 10-4, and 1-0 in the conference.

UCF took advantage of a slow start from the Bulls' offense in the first set, out-hitting USF .159-.125 and grabbing a 25-22 first-set win. USF's four blocks and two aces kept the Bulls in the set despite producing just eight kills. Mullins contributed three of those kills and added a pair of blocks, but it wasn't enough to keep USF from dropping the first set of the conference season.

The Bulls' middle blockers continued to lead the team in the second set, as Rodriguez Gomez grabbed the leading role of USF's offense. Rodriguez Gomez accounted for 5.5 of the Bulls' 22 points in the set, knocking down four kills in just seven swings, and added a solo block and block assist to the mix. Trailing late in the set, USF fought off three consecutive set points using a pair of blocks from Mullins and an Erin Fairs kill, but the Knights closed out the set with their 34th kill of the match, taking a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.

Despite getting six kills from Brown and another four from Rodriguez Gomez in a combined 14 attacks, USF fell victim to the Knights one last time in the third. The Bulls struggled to side out, winning just 12 of the 24 points in which UCF served. Despite forcing 10 ties and seven lead changes, USF dropped the final set 25-23, handing the first of a two-match series between the teams this year to UCF.

Rodriguez Gomez and Mullins each contributed a team-high nine kills, with Rodriguez Gomez hitting .562, and Mullins adding five blocks. Brown played errorless volleyball in the match, grabbing seven kills on 18 swings. The Bulls return home next Friday to resume conference play, playing host to Rutgers at 7 p.m. in The Corral.