AMES, Iowa - The UCF volleyball team was defeated by the Iowa State Cyclones in three sets (25-14, 25-22, 25-23) in a midweek matchup on Wednesday night at the James H. Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State (19-9, 10-7 Big 12) won the statistical battle against UCF (17-11, 8-9) with 44 kills, five service aces and a .168 attacking percentage. For the Black and Gold, Abby Schomers and Claudia Dillon tied with a match-leading four blocks each and Avah Armour added a team-leading 10 kills on the night. Libero Chloe Scheer notched a career-high 24 digs.
The Cyclones took a commanding 9-4 lead against the Knights to begin the first set. Iowa State continued to power through the set and lead 12-5, until UCF started to chip away at the lead, going on a 6-1 run, including back-to-back kills by Emily Wilson and Armour to bring the Black and Gold within two, 13-11. The Cyclones came back and dominated the rest of the set including five straight kills en route to a 25-14 win.
Set two started out with another lead by Iowa State, 6-3. The Knights and Cyclones traded points until UCF went on a 4-0 run and took its first lead, 10-9. After the Cyclones rallied to take a 12-11 advantage, the Black and Gold went on a 5-0 run, including back-to-back kills by Armour to pull ahead, 16-12. Following an Iowa State timeout, the Cyclones chipped away and tied the set again and went on to take the lead, 22-21. A Black and Gold comeback came up short and Iowa State went on to win the second set, 25-22 capped off by a 3-0 run.
After a 3-0 Cyclones start in the third set, UCF went on to score five of the next six points aided by back-to-back kills by Wilson to gain the 5-4 advantage. A back-and-forth affair ensued, and Iowa State once again rallied to take a 12-11 lead. The Knights and Cyclones continued to tie throughout the set until Iowa State went up 22-20. The Black and Gold answered back with three straight points taking a one-point lead, 23-22 and forcing a Cyclones timeout. Iowa State came out of the timeout in full force with two straight kills and a service ace to take the set 25-23.
The Knights will head to Lawrence, Kansas, to play their final regular-season game against the Kansas Jayhawks with the match slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.