TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The UCF volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season in four sets against No. 21 Florida State on Sunday afternoon in Tully Gymnasium.
In a back-and-forth battle, UCF (5-1) tallied 63 digs while the Seminoles (7-1) recorded 50 kills along with 13 blocks and 13 aces.
Avah Armour led the Black and Gold with 13 kills adding in seven digs. Chloe Scheer led the defense with 23 digs and Emily Wilson notched 13 digs.
Armour started the match off with a kill, but Florida State quickly tied it up with a kill. Both teams fought for the lead and the Knights took it following an 8-8 deadlock which resulted in a kill from Heidi Bonde and two consecutive kills from Armour, 12-8. A 6-1 scoring run led to the Noles taking the lead, 17-14. After a UCF timeout, Florida State cruised to a 25-16 set win after an 8-2 scoring rally.
Florida State came out with a quick 2-0 lead in the second set but the Knights quickly flipped the script with a 4-0 scoring frenzy which was sparked by a kill from Alexia Kuehl, 4-2. A Florida State service error knotted the set at 15 and the Seminoles then went on a 3-0 frenzy to take the lead and hold onto it for the remainder of the set, 25-20.
The Knights came out firing on all cylinders with an early 8-4 lead following a 6-0 run which resulted in four kills for UCF. As the Black and Gold kept the lead, the Seminoles chipped away gaining some ground after a 5-1 rally, 23-22. UCF persevered and came out with the 25-23 set win to force a fourth set.
Scheer dialed in at the service line, served up an ace to start the fourth set, 1-0. An early 8-4 lead by the Noles forced a UCF timeout. The Knights inched their way back in with a kill from Britt Carlson to equalize the set, 9-9. Florida State answered quickly with back-to-back kills from Audrey Koenig to take the lead, 11-9. The Seminoles never relinquished the lead with a 25-17 set win.
The Knights host Nevada and Maryland for their home opening weekend starting with two matches against Nevada Sept. 19 and 20 at 6 p.m. followed by Maryland Sept. 21 at 6 p.m.