ORLANDO – UCF volleyball earned its seventh victory in a row with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-23) Big 12 Conference win against West Virginia on Wednesday night in The Venue.
The Knights (15-2, 6-0) remain undefeated in conference play and have only lost two sets throughout that time.
Three Knights eclipsed 10 or more kills against West Virginia (7-12, 0-6), including Emily Wilson with 12, Abby Hansen with 11 and Claudia Dillion with 10. Abby Schomers led the team in assists with 39. The Black and Gold boasted a .432 attacking percentage, holding the Mountaineers to just a .290 clip. UCF came out attacking to earn 50 kills and seven blocks.
“I was pleased with our offense tonight, as our offense carried us, especially in sets two and three,” said head coach Jenny Maurer. “It’s a game of errors we just can’t allow ourselves to string together too many errors that are unforced. I’m really proud of how we’ve been starting matches whether we are on the road or at home we’re doing a great job at coming out of the gates.”
The Knights got off to a quick start jumping to a 7-1 lead in the first set, forcing the Mountaineers to burn their first timeout. West Virginia never found its footing, as the Black and Gold continued to apply pressure and cruised behind Wilson, Lauren Clark and Avah Armour, who each had three kills. The Knights boasted a .636 hitting percentage in the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match, 25-11.
“We came out with our foot on the gas,” added Chloe Scheer. “Katelyn started us out with two aces, which helped us gain the momentum early on.”
Both teams came out strong in the second set trading points until a 13-13 tie. UCF then went on a 3-0 run forcing West Virginia to call a timeout to recoup. The Mountaineers took the lead 19-18 late in the set, but the Knights came back roaring to take a 23-21 lead. Hansen came up clutch with her seventh kill of the match to give the Black and Gold set point and a stellar kill by Wilson gave the Knights the set, 25-22.
The Mountaineers put pressure on the Knights in set three as both teams traded points until they reached 8-8. As both teams traded the lead, the set ended up knotted at 22-22. The Black and Gold took a 23-22 lead forcing West Virginia to call its final timeout. Wilson put the game away with her team-leading 12th kill of the night to earn the sweep, 25-23.
The Knights wrap up their two-match homestand against Kansas State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in The Venue.