WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.— The UCF volleyball team came up short against no. 17 Purdue on Thursday night in Holloway Gymnasium. The Boilermakers defeated the Knights, 3-0 (15-25, 19-25, 22-25), in a hard-fought match as part of the Boilermaker Challenge.
The Knights (8-2) tallied 50 digs as the Boilermakers (6-2) hit away at a .349 clip. Emily Wilson recorded her third double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs. While Avah Armour recorded nine kills and 11 digs. Chloe Scheer led the Knights with 14 digs.
The Black and Gold struggled to gain momentum in the first set as the Boilermakers came out firing away with a hitting percentage of .423. The Boilermakers finished the set with a 5-0 run to take an early lead in the match, 25-15.
UCF started the second stanza off with a kill from Claudia Dillon. The Knights and Boilermakers traded points until a 5-5 deadlock when the Boilermakers jumped ahead after a 3-0 spurt, 8-5. Purdue kept ahold of the lead throughout the remainder of the set to gain a 2-0 lead, 25-19.
The Knights got off to a hot start in the third set ignited by a solo block and kill from Wilson to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. The Knights and Boilermakers fought back and forth for the lead with the score knotted at 11, Wilson answered with back-to-back kills to give the Knights a two-point advantage. Purdue chipped away at the Knights lead to tie it up at 22. The Boilermakers came out with the momentum after an unsuccessful challenge from UCF to go on a 3-0 spurt to polish off the match, 25-22.
UCF will finish the Boilermaker Challenge against Illinois on Friday at 5:30 p.m.