Oct. 4, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- A late fifth-set rally fell short for the error-plagued UCF volleyball team and the Knights dropped a 3-2 decision to Houston in American Athletic Conference action at The Venue on Sunday afternoon.
"I thought we showed a lot of character," assistant head coach Michelle Chatman said. "We worked really hard. Defense (had) another great showing tonight. We also had a lot of kills; we just made too many errors."
Junior Jale Hervey opened the match with a kill, setting the pace early for UCF (8-8, 2-2 AAC). The Knights used a .306 hitting percentage and 17 kills to claim a 25-18 first set win.
Matching each other point-for-point in the second set, UCF and Houston saw six tied scores and four lead changes in the early going. Once the Cougars took a 6-5 lead, they held the upper hand for the remainder of the set.
Although Houston held the early advantage in the third set, the Knights slowly chipped away at the Cougar lead. Kills from senior Abbie Fleener, Gallart, redshirt freshman Maddie Haggerty and redshirt sophomore Taylor Wickey highlighted a six-point swing that gave the Knights the advantage. UCF used a 25-17 win in the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Cougars took the lead from the start of the fourth set and never surrendered it. Despite a Black and Gold rally toward the end of the set, Houston forced the Knights to play their second fifth-set of the weekend.
Houston carried the momentum into the fifth set, racing out to a 9-4 lead. A pair of Cougar errors helped the Knights cut the deficit. Down 13-6, UCF began a rally to hold off Houston. After Wickey and Haggerty each tallied a kill, they teamed up for a block to make it 13-9. Facing match point, Haggerty kept UCF alive with her 17th kill of the day. The Black and Gold rally fell short as Houston was able to come up with a kill to take the 3-2 victory.
Maddie Haggerty led UCF with a career-best 17 kills, 12 digs and three aces. Jale Hervey added 16 kills, while Taylor Gallart chipped in 12. Freshman Jordan Pingel led the Knights with 25 digs. Freshman Miranda Watkins served up three aces, bringing her total to eight on the weekend.
Next Up
? The Knights hit the road for the first time in conference play next weekend. UCF faces Cincinnati on Friday and Memphis on Sunday.
? UCF is back at The Venue on Oct. 16 for three matches in a five-day span. The Black and Gold open against SMU before taking on Tulsa and USF.
Story by Megan Herboth; Video by Conor Engelhardt; Photos by Simone Amaduzzi