Volleyball Heads to Texas TechVolleyball Heads to Texas Tech

Volleyball Heads to Texas Tech

by Jenna VanHoose
Watch Live Stats Match Notes

ORLANDO – Headlined by a 4-0 start in Big 12 play, the Knights will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for a matchup against Texas Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. UCF boasts a 13-2 record heading into the matchup, while the Red Raiders have an 8-8 record on the season. 

The Matchup

  • The Knights hold a 1-1 record against the Red Raiders with the last matchup during the 1981 season when matches were scored using rally-scoring system, which means only the team serving could score a point. Sets were played to 15 points instead of 25, but matches could stretch on for hours at a time.  

Scouting Texas Tech

  • The Red Raiders head into the matchup with an 8-8 record and a three-game losing streak.
  • Head coach Tony Graystone is in his eighth season with Texas Tech and 25th overall with a 553-274 record. 
  • Texas Tech returned nine players from last year’s team and brought in 11 newcomers. 
  • Both teams played North Texas this season and the Red Raiders lost 3-2, while the Knights won 3-2. 
  • The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in team attacks per set with 36.72 and team digs with 990. They are ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 for total assists with 680.

Ace it up 

  • UCF is currently ranked No. 1 in the NCAA for aces per set with an average of 2.58 per set.
  • Three Knights are ranked in the top 100 for service aces Emily Wilson (3rd), Claudia Dillon (69th) and Avah Armour (86th).
  • Against North Texas, the Knights recorded a season-high 15 aces. 

Knight in Shining Armour 

  • Freshman Avah Armour has started in every match this season as an outside hitter.
  • Headlined by nine matches with double digits in kills along with a career-high of 17 kills against Cincinnati (9/21), she has recorded two double-doubles this season with one in the season opener and one in the first Big 12 match. 
  • Currently, she is the only freshman ranked in the Big 12 for service aces with 24. 

Ace Queen 

  • Emily Wilson is ranked No. 1 in service aces per set (0.65) and total service aces (29) in the Big 12 standings. 
  • In the most recent matchup against Oklahoma, Wilson recorded a career high six service aces in the 3-1 win. 

5-0 Start

  • Headlined by a 5-0 start, head coach Jenny Maurer becomes the first UCF head coach in the DI era to start the season 5-0 in her first season as head coach. 
  • Three Knights were named to the UAlbany All-Tournament Team: Abby Hansen (MVP), Abby Schomers and Avah Armour
  • Claudia Dillon earned the All-Tournament team for the UCF Challenge. 

The Jenny Maurer Era 

  • Maurer was named head coach of UCF volleyball in May 2023. 
  • She is no stranger to UCF as she has been a member of the coaching staff since 2016.
  • Her resume includes nine years as a Division I head coach --Lehigh (4) and Bradley (5).
  • She is a two-time DIII National Champion (1995 and 1996) as a player at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Rounding Out The Staff 

  • Maurer added two associate head coaches to her staff along with a volunteer assistant. 
  • Jason Tanaka, a 25-year collegiate coaching veteran with Big 12 experience (Baylor, TCU).
  • Michaela Franklin, former Big 12 volleyball champion (Kansas State) and nationally recognized recruiter.
  • Tyler Hubbard-Neil, a former professional volleyball player joined the staff as a volunteer assistant. 
  • Erin Olson remained on staff as the director of operations.

New Faces

  • The Knights added seven newcomers to the roster for the 2023 season.
  • Four of those are freshmen and the other three are transfers. 
  • The freshmen include Avah Armour, Annika Sokol, Sasha Cohen and Doga Ocal. 
  • Three of the four freshmen are from Colorado and Ocal is from Turkey.
  • The transfer trio includes Lauren Clark (FGCU/ Penn State), Britt Carlson (Washington State) and Megan Holland (South Carolina).

Welcome Back 

Five Peat AAC Champions

  • UCF volleyball ended its era in the American Athletic Conference with five consecutive championships. 
  • The Knights started their inaugural season in the American in 2013 and ended in 2023 accounting for 11 overall championship titles.

New Kids On The Block 

  • UCF officially joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.
  • The Knights enter the Power 5 as the youngest school, having been founded in 1963 to supply NASA with engineers.
  • UCF joins the conference with Cincinnati, Houston and BYU to push the conference to 13 volleyball programs. 
  • The Black and Gold are 38-36 against current Big 12 schools. The Knights were ranked No. 9 in the Big 12 preseason poll. 
  • In the AVCA poll, the Knights are one of seven Big 12 schools that are ranked or receiving votes. 

Knights In The Rankings

  • UCF is ranked in four categories in the top 20 of the NCAA. 
  • 1st: 2.58 aces per set 
  • 2nd: 142 team service aces
  • 11th: 0.290 hitting %
  • 13th: 0.867 WL%

European Tour 

  • UCF enjoyed a successful foreign tour this summer after visiting the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy playing six matches against international opponents. 
  • Traveling from Orlando to Czech Republic, the team began its trip in Prague, walking around Old Town and the city. 
  • While in Prague, the Knights played back-to-back matches against the Czech National Team.
  • The Knights made a short trip to Brno, where UCF played the U22 Brno Team along with touring in the downtown area. 
  • Sightseeing in Budapest featured the Buda Castle, the Parliament building and the Danube.
  • Kicking off its time in Maribor, UCF held a clinic for about 30 youth, presenting a further opportunity to get to know the local people and share some of the team’s volleyball knowledge and skills. 
  • Outside of the team’s two matches in Slovenia, the Knights rode a ski lift up part of the mountain to ride the alpine slide down the mountain and went for a bike ride to the city center of Maribor. For dinner, the team took a gondola up Pohorje Mountain on top of the mountain.
  • UCF took a pit stop in Lake Bled, Slovenia for a few hours on the way to Italy which included a gondola ride to the church in the middle of the lake, swimming and enjoying the famous Lake Bled cake. 
  • Once in Italy, the Black and Gold checked out the amenities at the resort which included multiple pools and a hot spring. The team concluded their trip in Venice with a full day of sightseeing.