QUICK HITS
- With her previous career best sitting at 20 kills, Armour not only surpassed that mark, but tallied a remarkable 30 on the night, becoming one of 18 Knights to have reached that amount.
- English made for the perfect one-two punch with Armour, boasting an impressive 20 kills of her own, while also tallying three aces to continue her hold as the NCAA serving leader.
- Freshman Alexa Haley was vital in the back row, continuing her strong form since taking over the libero position with a career-high 24 digs.
- Unsurprisingly, the Knights set numerous season-highs as a team, including kills (74), attempts (182), assists (68), blocks (15) and points (95.5). UCF’s 74 kills were the most in a match since the Knights secured 76 in a five-set bout with Tulsa on Nov. 14, 2014.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing their first Big 12 road contest of the season, the Knights aimed not to let the high-altitude environment affect them early on. After the Buffaloes swiftly put two on the board, UCF responded with four-straight points of its own, with a pair of kills from Colorado natives Avah Armour and Sasha Cohen turning the tide.
The Black and Gold sided out at a high rate to maintain the early advantage, which had grown to five by the time the hosts called a timeout at 13-8. Defense highlighted the tail-end of the opening set, with an Ella Chapman and Abby Schomers block growing the lead to eight. While a later charge by the Buffaloes forced Botsford to take a timeout, Armour immediately put the set to rest with an emphatic kill out of the break, 25-21.
A back-and-forth affair made for another standstill early in the second set. A Mikayla Porter ace concluded a four-point swing from the Knights; however, Colorado crawled back with consistent hitting from its attack, granting the squad a two-point lead.
Deep in the set, an Armour attack originally called out was reversed, a challenge that flipped the script for the Knights. A Skylar English kill, followed by yet another forceful block from Schomers and Chapman, leveled the bout. An Armour kill out of the Colorado timeout commenced a chess match that took the set to 30-all, with both sides missing opportunities to put it away.
At the courtesy of multiple service errors from the hosts, Armour stepped up to the line and delivered her best serve of the contest, securing her second consecutive set-winner to double the UCF advantage.
The Buffaloes bounced back aggressively in the third, halting a potential Knights sweep as they fended off a late run to cut the UCF lead in half. In the fourth, defense took center stage as each side hit under .200 for the first time in the match.
Eleven combined blocks nixed any momentum either squad had gained. An English kill off a crisp Porter serve leveled the bout at 21-all before the Buffaloes inched out an equalizing 25-23 set-four win.
Colorado rode the good form into a 7-3 lead in the early stages of the winner-take-all fifth set. As the Knights surrounded Botsford after calling a timeout, veterans and even freshmen expressed what was needed to climb back into the match. The sentiments were well represented, as the Black and Gold grew closer and closer to the Buffaloes before fighting off their first match point via a clutch kill from English.
What ensued was out of a script straight from Hollywood's greats. Two more Colorado match points were fended off from the Knights, who reveled in the pressure. When it was their time to serve for the dual themselves, the Buffaloes also rose to the occasion.
A potential UCF-winner was overturned, which gave the hosts room to finally claim the match for themselves.
UP NEXT
The Knights will strive to bounce back into the win column as they conclude their road trip Saturday afternoon at Iowa State. First serve from Ames is set for 3 p.m. EST.
