ORLANDO - A memorable opening weekend for the UCF volleyball program was capped in emphatic fashion, as the Knights swept UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon at The Venue, moving to a perfect 3-0 under head coach Matt Botsford.
UCF’s firepower was unmatched, with Skylar English and Sasha Cohen dominating the Highlanders, leaving the home faithful with plenty to be happy about.
Much improved from the service-line today, and the block/defense showed a lot of progress as well. I'm happy with the adjustments we made from the first two matches, and happy overall to be 3-0 after the first weekend.
Matt BotsfordHead CoachQUICK HITS
- The Knights’ 3-0 start marks the fourth consecutive season they’ve won each of their first three contests.
- This is the first time UC Riverside and UCF have played since 1978, with the Knights moving to 2-0 against the Highlanders all-time.
- Sasha Cohen ended the afternoon game with 11 total kills and a dominant final hitting average of .643%. It marked her fourth-career match with double-digit kills, as the Colorado native totaled 26 throughout the three matches, boasting a remarkable .611 hitting percentage to start the season.
- English paced the Knights in kills (12) for the second consecutive match, as she averaged 4.5 across her first two contests in Black and Gold.
- Abby Schomers produced another stellar outing with 27 assists, moving her weekend total to an even 100. She remains eighth all-time in career assists at UCF.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCF opened the first set in strong fashion, heavily aided by Cohen and English, who both tallied four kills in the first set alone. Five Knights notched kills as UCF took the first set with a 25-17 result.
It was more of the same in the opening stages of the second set, forcing UC Riverside to take an early timeout. Sophomore Fallon Stewart and the Knights went on a 7-0 scoring run while serving, helping UCF pull away from the Highlanders to replicate its set-one win, 25-17.
Cohen and English only continued to stay assertive, adding to their kill total during the second set, keeping the Knights in the lead. Junior Avah Armour also came alive during the eventful second set, notching six kills in the second before ending the match with nine.
In the third, UCF continued to display its strength even though it faced some early pushback from the Highlanders. Armour and Cohen matched energies throughout the last set, notching one kill after another, bringing their final totals to nine and 11, respectively.
Impressive defensive efforts led the Knights to another eye-catching result, keeping their west-coast opposition to just 27 kills and a minimal .092 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
The Knights will embark on their first road-trip of the season as they make the trip south to Miami for the 305 Challenge, hosted by FIU. UCF will face Stetson on Friday, before matches with Miami on Saturday and the hosts on Sunday.
SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
UCF volleyball single-match and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action in the program's 50th Anniversary Season. Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.