October 15, 2024

Volleyball Primed for West Virginia and No. 8 Kansas

by Jenna VanHoose

The Matchup

UCF heads to West Virginia for its second matchup against the Mountaineers this season along with a home match against No. 8 Kansas.
This will be the first time UCF plays at WVU Coliseum since the Knights have joined the Big 12 conference July 2023.
Kansas leads the league with a .327 hitting percentage along with 13.74 assists per set.
West Virginia has limited its opponents to just 13.39 digs per set this season which ranks it at No. 5 in the Big 12.
The Knights average 13.38 kills per set and limits their opponent to just 10.42 assists per set to rank them No. 2 in the Big 12.

Scouting West Virginia

The Mountaineers enter the matchup 6-11 on the season, and 0-6 in Big 12 play.
Head coach Jen Greeny is in her first season with West Virginia as she spent the last 13 years at the helm for Washington State.

Cassidy Tanton leads the Mountaineers in kills with 234 and is ranked 10th in the Big 12 with 3.39 kills per set.
On the defensive side, Sydney Reed averages 3.59 digs per set which places her at No. 8 in the Big 12.

Scouting Kansas

The Jayhawks enter the matchup 14-1 on the season, and are 5-0 in Big 12 play.
Head coach Ray Bechard is in his 27th season with Kansas and boasts a 385-309 record with the Jayhawks.
Toyosi Onabanjo leads the Jayhawks in hitting percentage with a .457 clip which ranks her second in the Big 12 conference.
Camryn Turner runs the offense and leads the Big 12 with 11.52 assists per set.

100 Wins

Head coach Jenny Maurer eclipsed her 100^thcareer win as a head coach on August 31 against Virginia Tech.
Maurer is in her second season as head coach at UCF and had previous stops at Lehigh (2007-2010) and Bradley (2011-2015).

Kuehl With The Kill

Alexia Kuehl leads the Knights with .414 hitting percentage and is ranked No. 18 in the NCAA.
The middle blocker has tallied 105 kills and 35 blocks this season.
A transfer from Colorado, where she spent the last four seasons decided to move back to Florida for her last year.

Road Warriors

The Knights started their season out with three weekends on the road.
UCF traveled to Virginia and North Carolina, along with two weekends on the road in Florida.
It marked the first time since the 2017 season that the Knights played their first three weekends away from The Venue.

Double-Trouble Trio

Three Knights have recorded double-doubles this season led by Avah Armour and Abby Schomers with three followed by Emily Wilson with two.
Schomers and Armour each produced a double-double in the first match of the season against Virginia Tech.
Schomers dished out 40 assists and 10 digs while Armour recorded 16 kills and 10 digs.
Wilson earned her first double-double of the season in the first matchup against Nevada (9/19) tallying 21 kills and 10 digs.

Year Two in the Big 12

The Knights ended their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference with a 17-12 overall record and 8-10 in conference play.
This season the Knights will open league play on ESPNU at Kansas on Sept. 25.
With the addition of four new members into the Big 12, the Knights will host Colorado for the first time since 2003, Utah (1996) and travel to Arizona and Arizona State for the first time in program history.

Milestone Watch

Chloe Scheer has recorded 1,373 digs in her career at UCF, which ranks her fifth in the individual career records for career digs.
The Murrieta, California, native currently has 128 aces, where she sits at No. 9 on the individual career list.

Knight in Shining Armour

Headlined by nine matches with double digits in kills along with a career-high 18 kills at Stetson (9/5).
Armour recorded her first double-double this season in the season opener against Virginia Tech (8/31).
The Colorado native’s 18 kills at Stetson rank in the top five in the Big 12 for kills in a three-set match.

Knights In The Rankings