ORLANDO – A thrilling five-set match went in favor of UCF volleyball on Saturday night, defeating a talented Kansas State team, 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 26-24, 16-25, 15-7), in front of a packed house at The Venue.
UCF (16-2, 7-0) recorded 63 digs and seven service aces compared to Kansas State (10-7, 4-4), which tallied 52 kills and 11 blocks. Lauren Clark notched a squad-best 14 kills. Emily Wilson tallied 11 kills and completed her sixth double-double of the season with 11 digs. Claudia Dillon added 10 kills while Abby Hansen recorded a match-high three solo blocks. On the defensive side, Chloe Scheer notched 20 digs. Abby Schomers dished out 37 assists.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight and they were coming in with a lot of confidence after sweeping No. 25 Iowa State,” said head coach Jenny Maurer. “We expected the fight and we got it. I was proud of how we came out of the gate but overall especially in the fifth set the team really stepped up and rallied together.”
In the opening set, the Knights and Wildcats traded points until Wilson sparked a 4-0 lead to give the Knights a 9-5 edge. UCF continued to pace its way through the remainder of the set as Schomers closed out the set with a kill to earn the 25-16 win. The Black and Gold boasted a .375 hitting percentage with 12 kills.
Following suit from the first stanza, the Knights and Wildcats came to a 4-4 standstill but a kill from Dillon ignited a 3-0 rally, 7-4. Kansas State quickly answered to knot the score at eight. After a 13-13 deadlock, the Wildcats took the lead following a successful challenge and kept the momentum on their side of the court to tie the match 1-1, 25-18.
An early 6-0 run to start off the third frame helped the Knights gain a 7-3 advantage. The Knights continued to hold onto the lead until the Wildcats tied it at 22 following another successful challenge. With the set at 24-23, UCF scored three consecutive points to take the 2-1 lead, 26-24.
Clark started the fourth set with a kill, but Kansas State jumped ahead 5-1. The Knights clawed at the lead with a 4-0 rally to get within two points of the lead, 8-6. Serving miscues from the Black and Gold allowed the Wildcats to take the momentum and force a fifth set, 25-16.
“They brought the fire but we definitely came together at the end and used our talent that we knew we had to finish out the match,” added Clark.
With the momentum solely on Kansas State’s side of the net, the Wildcats raced out to a 3-1 lead to force the Knights to take a timeout. The Black and Gold proceeded to go on a 5-1 scoring frenzy to push themselves in front by two, 6-4. A successful challenge from UCF gave the Knights the momentum to close out the match on a 3-0 run as Katelyn Grimes ended the match with a service ace, 15-7.
UCF heads to Waco, Texas, for a matchup against No. 20 Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.