ORLANDO - The UCF volleyball team swept West Virginia at The Venue on Wednesday night in its Big 12 home opener.
The Knights (8-4, 1-2) tallied 41 kills and 40 digs while the Mountaineers (6-8, 0-3) only totaled 27 kills and 34 digs. Emily Wilson led the Knights with 13 kills and Sasha Cohen followed with 10. Both Alexia Kuehl and Britt Carlson added on with six kills. Abby Schomer piloted the offense with 34 assists while Chloe Scheer recorded her 11th double-digit dig game of the season with 18.
West Virginia started the first set with a kill but UCF responded quickly with a kill from Wilson. Scheer followed up with an ace, serving the Knights through an 8-0 scoring run. The Mountaineers struggled to gain momentum early as the Black and Gold took control of the game 11-2. A block assist from Schomers and Kuhel pushed the Knights up by 12 (17-5). West Virginia rallied back late in the set going on a six-point scoring run closing the scoring gap back down to eight (20-12). A net fault from the Knights allowed the Mountaineers to continue their trek upward putting the score at 22-16. But ultimately, an ace from Sophia Kotsovolos would end the first set with UCF winning 25-16.
The Venue was on its toes for the second set, as UCF held the lead throughout, but never by more than three points along with three ties. The Knights opened the set 2-0, but the Mountaineers fought back early in the set to tie it up (2-2). The Black and Gold weren’t ready to give their lead up yet and an ace from Wilson put UCF up by three (6-3). A tough fight from WVU tied the game up for the second time at 7-7. The set continued to be a series of back-and-forth runs but an ace from Schomers allowed the Knights to hold their lead at 14-11. The Mountaineers held on tight and gave the third tie of the game at 14-14. The second set continued to be a fight all the way to the end with WVU and UCF staying within two points of each other, but in the end, the Knights would come out on top taking the second set 25-23.
UCF came out hot in the third set with back-to-back kills from Wilson putting the team up 4-0. A three-point run from West Virginia would get them on the board putting them within two points of the home team (6-4). The Mountaineers would stay on the Knights' heels tying it up 9-9. However, UCF continued to fight for the set and a kill from Britt Carlson ignited a seven-point run to get the Knights up 20-11. West Virginia would push back, not letting the Knights take the set easily, closing the score back to 24-16. Ultimately, a kill from Kuehl would shut them down so that the Knights could take the final set 25-17.
The Black and Gold head to Ohio for a matchup against Cincinnati on Saturday, October 5 at 1 p.m.