HOUSTON, Texas – The UCF volleyball team was unable to come away with a win falling 3-0 (15-25, 23-25, 19-25) to No. 22 Houston on Friday night in the Fertitta Center.
The Cougars (13-7, 6-5) came out with a vengeance with a .467 clip in the first set to end the night hitting .360 with 48 kills and 35 digs. The Knights (17-6, 8-4) ended the match with 36 kills, 30 digs and three blocks. Emily Wilson recorded a team-high 11 kills adding in four digs. Lauren Clark tallied seven kills while Abby Hansen contributed six kills and two solo blocks.
The Knights and Cougars traded points to start off the first set, but a 7-7 deadlock sparked a 4-0 scoring run for Houston as the Knights took an early timeout, 11-7. The Cougars held onto the lead to end the first stanza on a 7-1 rally, 25-15. Houston came out swinging hard to end the set with a .467 clip.
Houston and UCF once again rallied back and forth until Claudia Dillon sparked a 4-0 run to give the Knights a 14-11 edge in the second set. The Cougars quickly answered back with a 6-0 spurt to gain the lead, 17-14. Abby Schomers sparked a 3-0 run following a kill to get the Knights within one point of the Cougars, 24-23. A Houston kill prevented the Knights from taking the set, 25-23.
As the Cougars and Knights tussled back and forth in the third frame, Houston ultimately took the lead after a 9-1 rally, 17-10. At 24-15, the Knights sparked a late 3-0 rally in hopes of giving them some momentum but UH kept ahold of the lead throughout the remainder of the set to earn the sweep, 25-19.
The Knights will get another crack at the Cougars on Saturday, Nov. 4 with first serve in the Fertitta Center slated for 4 p.m.