Volleyball Drops Wednesday Tilt at Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio - After claiming a pair of dominating victories a week ago against Houston and No. 24 Iowa State, UCF volleyball fell in three sets to Cincinnati at the Fifth Third Arena Wednesday night.

The Knights’ attack couldn’t continue their blazing form, with the Bearcats capitalizing on errors to maintain a steady lead in each set. 

"Poor performance tonight all-around, but a lot of credit to Cincinnati, who I think executed its game plan extremely well. We made way too many errors and didn’t adjust well within the match, which meant there wasn’t much resistance from our end," said head coach Matt Botsford after the match.

QUICK HITS

• Skylar English led the Knights in kills with 10 on the night, marking the first time the fifth year has paced the UCF attack since its first meeting with Cincinnati at Sept. 24. The performance is her 11th this season with double-digit kills.
• Freshman Sarah Mendoza tallied her third-career match with multiple service aces, as her two moved her into third on the team (18) with fellow first-year Mikayla Porter.
• Ella Chapman continued her strong offensive form in Cincinnati, securing her third consecutive match with five or more kills and an above-.500 hitting percentage (.500). The junior leads UCF with a 0.358 clip.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A pair of aces from the nation’s serving leader, Skylar English, put the Knights into a swift 4-1 advantage. Though with plenty of determination on the back of two consecutive defeats, the hosts dug in and responded with 12 of the next 15 points, forcing the Black and Gold into a timeout. 

A strength throughout UCF’s sweeps over Houston and No. 24 Iowa State last week, the Knights’ sideout percentage never climbed over 50 percent. Cincinnati’s blocking, which stood fifth in the conference in blocks per set (2.51), made for a difficult time for the UCF attack, eventually fending off a late run to claim the opening set, 25-21.

Through the early stages of the second, the Black and Gold’s offensive struggles continued, with kills from Sasha Cohen and Ella Chapman serving as the lone highlights before a UCF timeout down 13-9. Cincinnati’s Sydney Nolan caught fire out of the break, complementing their continued occupancy at the net to double the Bearcats’ lead, 25-19.

A back-and-forth third set, which saw five lead changes before the media timeout, eventually pulled away from the Knights. Seven kills from Avah Armour gave the UCF attack some momentum; however, the hosts leaned on Nolan for two of the final three points to clinch the sweep, 25-22.

UP NEXT

The Knights will continue their road swing Friday night in Morgantown, with the first serve against West Virginia set for 7 p.m.