Avah Armour Spotlight: Building Something Special at UCF

Now over six months removed from UCF volleyball’s 2025 campaign, Avah Armour’s historic season in her third year as a Knight has been well documented since the Black and Gold’s final match of the season in Kansas.

All-Big 12 First Team. Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year. AVCA Southeast Region First Team. AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.

While just a few of the honors bestowed upon the junior since November, many marking her as one of just a few in program history to achieve them, Armour keeps her priorities straight.​

"As they continued to roll in, it was hard not to start expecting these things to happen. If I start thinking, ‘if I won this one, then I’ll win this one,’ it can affect how I think about myself. I try not to put an expectation on any award, because even if I get one, I can’t think that’s enough. I talked to Matt [Botsford] about this, too. The struggles I had this season were a lot different than the struggles I’ve had in the past," said Armour.

"A lot of people can see all of the awards and think everything is sunshine and easy, but there were still struggles that I faced this season and new ones that I was trying to navigate for the first time. Having the culture we had, though, it kept me grounded and my priorities straight for what really matters."

With the humility that many in her shoes can lack, the ever-changing landscape of college athletics has made an athlete of her talent a rare sight among the Power Four. From her first visit, where she committed on the plane ride back, to a pair of challenging seasons and a coaching change, she has been constant in her belief that this place is and will continue to be special.

And now embarking on her fourth season in Orlando, the standout reflects on her journey towards becoming one of the nation’s best, and more importantly, what being a part of the UCF volleyball program has meant to her.

​While now an All-American, Armour’s journey began in her hometown of Manitou Springs, Colorado, and under the guidance of her father, former Stanford standout and Super Bowl Champion with the Denver Broncos, Justin.

The stories of parents driving their kids to the limits to achieve dreams they could not reach have become quite the synopsis for youth sports over the past decades. However, Justin had reached those dreams and knew that his role was to put his kids in the best position to succeed on and off the field.​

​Having played multiple sports growing up, each coached by Justin, Avah began her high school journey on both the women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Justin coached the former, and while her career in hoops ended before her junior year, her experience on the hardwood still pays dividends today.

"​Naturally, at my height and build, I wouldn’t say I was the most coordinated growing up," said Armour. "When I finally got my feet under me at around 15 or 16, playing basketball helped a lot in building that footwork and coordination. Whether it’s hand-eye coordination or running, I think all athletes who played multiple sports growing up have always found that beneficial."

​Looking back on her early years in sports, Avah smiles as she gives insight into both the good and the bad of being coached by her dad.

"My dad is really knowledgeable about all sports and just has a competitive drive that he definitely instilled into me. And then once I got in high school, it became a little bit harder with him being my basketball coach, because we are so similar that sometimes we would butt heads," said Armour.

"Honestly, I'm just really grateful for that whole experience and how invested he was in my siblings’ sports careers. He was never pressuring us to play all these sports, but just being around him and being around someone who was so invested and spent so much of his life going towards that, it just inspired me to want to play without being forced into it."

​The decision to focus primarily on volleyball came at a crucial time as Avah’s recruitment began to heat up. Schools had begun to show interest in the junior, making their case for why their program was the right next step. Though as visits and conversations continued, Avah was able to sense which teams truly believed in her, and which were just checking a box.

Armour made her first visit to Orlando before her junior season, alongside Omaha, Nebraska, native Abby Schomers. The Knights had just secured their second consecutive AAC title and were firmly among the top non-Power Five programs in the nation. Looking back on her visit, however, the wins and losses didn’t drive Armour to her commitment; it was the people and the community.​

UCF was on the verge of an historic jump to the Big 12 Conference, one of the elite leagues in collegiate volleyball. With the competition hitting a new level, Armour knew that being a part of this transition was the opportunity to be a part of something special. As a freshman, Armour featured in 27 matches, boasting an impressive 2.48 kills per set and 277.5 points.

On paper, it was a foundational season that set the stage for her career in Orlando, but it didn’t come without its challenges and setbacks. An injury midseason presented her first hardship, as she worked tirelessly to get back to her best.

"There were definitely moments after I got my first injury in college, and trying to come back from that, and seeing you're not quite the same. Going through your first kind of hardship as a college athlete, it feels like the world is ending. Getting to look back on that now and see how many bumps in the road that I've hit and how many times I've been able to overcome them, and be better from it, it's just really cool to see how my mindset has shifted from now to then," said Armour.

Both her and the program’s inaugural season in the Big 12 presented a plethora of 'pinch me' moments, as some of the sport’s most storied programs now shared the same stage as the Knights. Armour, along with Schomers, who had now taken over as the starting setter, tallied eight wins across 18 conference contests, a notable total that included victories over Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State and TCU.

In the home finale, the Black and Gold hosted Texas, who were the defending national champions in 2022 and would later go on to defend that title a month later. While the Longhorns prevailed in three sets, the experience, paired with a vibrant atmosphere in The Venue, was an impactful moment for Armour.​

"A big moment for me, and one of my favorite moments in my career so far, was playing Texas at home in 2023," proclaimed Armour on the match. "All of those athletes have been women that I've looked up to since I was in high school, and getting to be across the net from Maddie Skinner and seeing these girls face to face, as a 17-year-old freshman, was insane. It was just a big moment for me where I realized, ‘wow, I'm on TV right now,’ it was a lot of pressure. I also was so new to all of it that it still just seemed so shiny and fun.​"

From her early days playing the sport at her local YMCA with friends, to playing on national TV against some of the best athletes in the world, it was a marquee campaign for Armour as her talents continued to raise eyebrows.

​In 2024, however, the Knights suffered a difficult season, and while Armour remained an important piece on the court, the team’s results indicated a change needed to be made after going 9-18.

At this stage, Armour could’ve been one of the top names in the portal after a career season in which she averaged 3.26 kills per set and tallied over 300 points. Though the feeling she had during her visit, and the sentiments that led her to commit to UCF, hadn’t gone away.

​Director of Athletics, Terry Mohajir, and Deputy Athletics Director, Chris McFarlane, began their search for a new head coach, all with the intention of making sure Armour and her teammates were at the heart of their decision.

After a diligent search process, Matt Bostford was named the 10th head coach in program history in December 2024. Ranked among the top-10 active head coaches in career winning percentage, he amassed an incredible resume leading FGCU for the past decade, including an NCAA first-round triumph over the Knights in 2018.

With six returning pieces, including Armour and Schomers, there was a foundation to reimagine what the program could achieve. Botsford and his staff, including his associate head coach at FGCU, Kate Morell, along with Northwestern State head coach Sean Kiracofe and Virginia assistant Trevor Kennan, set out on building trust with the established core.

"Immediately, they asked all of us individually how we like to be coached. And to be honest, in the beginning, I didn't really have an answer for him. I kind of told him I need to be pushed in different ways to see what I respond better to, because right now it’s hard for me to understand what I need, because I never really got pushed in certain aspects. It was always just kind of ‘let her be.’ So I told him that I want to get pushed, I want to be challenged. ‘What is my breaking point?’ I wanted to see how far he could push me, and he definitely took that seriously. And in the beginning, as we got out of that honeymoon phase, he was hard on us, and he pushed us, and he called us out when we weren't doing what we were supposed to do, and that was something that our team was not used to, but we all appreciated the accountability. Because sometimes we all struggle, and we need somebody that's there, that's not one of your teammates," said Armour.

The Knights hit the portal and grabbed multiple exciting pieces, along with welcoming a talented freshman class to campus. With a new group ready to make their mark, by the time spring came around, Armour knew this group would be special.

While the players knew how talented they were, being ranked 14th in the Big 12 preseason poll only strengthened the group's spirit. “We’re always going to be underdogs in the Big 12, and that’s personally the spot I like to be at. Bringing in people who have a chip on their shoulder and who have something to prove is important,” said Armour.

The Knights swept their opening weekend at home in Botsford’s first matches as head coach, and four more wins across the next two weeks put the Black and Gold in high spirits before their conference opener against No. 21 Baylor.

The result wouldn’t be favorable for the Knights, however, as the Bears controlled the match from start to finish. No matter how the culture had shifted and how promising the non-conference slate had been for the team, the defeat was a difficult setback.

​It led Armour to go into Botsford’s office, and from there, an honest and transformational conversation ensued.

From there, the team began to hit its stride, concluding non-conference with a pair of convincing wins over Alabama and Memphis in Tuscaloosa, before sweeping Cincinnati at home to secure their first Big 12 win of the season.

​Along with Armour, who was now hitting passes from Schomers for the third consecutive season, the Knights’ attacking core also featured Skylar English and Reaghan Thompson, who had followed Botsford from FGCU and Kiracofe from Northwestern State.

​With third-year Knight Sasha Cohen and another FGCU transfer, Ella Chapman, the Black and Gold had an experienced group to help mentor the five freshmen, all of whom played key roles throughout the season.

"I think that's what's so cool about our team and the culture that we had, because we could have left that Baylor game and said ‘wow, we don't belong here, we don't have what it takes,' and just accept that it was gonna be the same as it was last season, but instead we all just rose the occasion and said ‘that's not how our season is going to be’. I know definitely, for myself and for the returners, that it was not going to be our story this year, and that it couldn't be. We kind of made the decision then and there. That Baylor game might not have gone as we planned, but we have a lot more to go, and we were all on the same page, where we're heading and what our goals are, and not settling for anything less. Focusing on the fact that we have had so many weapons this year, so many tools, and we had such a good culture helped break us out of the lows," said Armour.

Personally, Armour had reached a new level as conference play rolled around. She was averaging more than four kills per set, which placed her among the top of the Big 12, and was also making strides on the defensive end with nearly two digs per set and over 1.5 blocks per game.

​Compared to when she arrived as a freshman two seasons prior, Armour knew teams were preparing for her, presenting a new opportunity to grow her game.

"​It has definitely been something that I've had to learn. I think as a freshman coming in, especially the first half of my season, I was thinking I was unstoppable, that I could do anything. But then I started to get scouted more and more, and it was harder for me to score. I was wondering why my numbers were dropping. But I realized I actually have film now, teams actually scout. Today, though, I see it as a compliment. The more I think about it, the more I overanalyze what the other team is doing, or how they're gonna try to stop me, rather than just playing my game. Finding new ways to expand my range and expand the things I can do without trying to completely change my game and be a different player is important," said Armour.

​UCF battled through ups and downs in conference play, with a win over No. 17 BYU in Provo serving as one of the program’s most historic victories. Armour’s 25 kills against the Cougars marked the third consecutive match she reached that mark, with 28 at Houston and 27 against Texas Tech preceding the team-leading performance.

​The Knights returned to Orlando in November for their final two-match homestand of the season against Houston and No. 24 Iowa State, who had gotten the better of UCF in Ames earlier that season.

​While a dominant sweep over Houston in the Space Game commenced the weekend on a high, it was UCF’s second win of the weekend, another convincing sweep over the Cyclones, that put the 2025 team in the record books. For just the second time in program history, the Knights had defeated two top-25 opponents, and Botsford became the first head coach to do so in his inaugural season in charge.

Even though Armour continued her historic pace as the season wound down, dips in performance still allowed her to challenge herself even more.

"When I’m riding a high, like I was for those three matches, but then I have a match where I struggle, or where I get pulled, it's hard not to say to myself, ‘why can't I just show up like that every night?’ Knowing that you're not always going to be 100% consistent is hard, but knowing I can always show up for my teammates is what’s important, and that steady force is something I rely on to get back to my best," said Armour.

At season’s end, UCF narrowly missed out on the NCAA tournament, though a 17-12 overall record and an 8-10 clip in Big 12 play served as a massive sign of growth in a new era for the program.

A final RPI ranking of 63, an incredible 141 places better than 2024’s final spot at 204, was the second-best year-over-year growth in the Power Four.

For Armour, her efforts on and off the court were awarded, again… and again… and again. Her first two honors came just days after the season, as she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year. A week later, she was named to the American Volleyball Coaches (AVCA) Southeast All-Region First Team, becoming the 12th Knight to garner the award.

​Another pair of academic honors, first being named to the CSC Academic All-District Team before eventually landing on the Academic All-America list, emphasized Armour’s efforts to better herself for the future, something she takes great pride in.

It all led to the premier personal honor of them all, as on December 17, Armour was officially announced as an AVCA All-American, becoming the ninth Knight in program history to receive the honor, and the first since 2022.

She was one of 99 athletes in the NCAA and one of 13 in the Big 12 to land on the list, as her 457 kills and 513 points ranked among the best seasons ever at UCF. Botsford knew that he and the staff had asked a lot of the juniors before the season, and her performance was worthy of the distinguished honor.

It was a recognition years in the making, first starting at her local YMCA in Manitou Springs, and then through her ride at the High School level and a challenging first two seasons in college. Not only did her expectations rise on the court, but Armour also took up a heightened role of leadership in every phase of the program.

​Through this remarkable journey Armour has been on, she only needs to look a few rows up in the stands at each of her matches to feel at home. Armour admits that when she was going through her recruiting process, she was trying to get “as far away as possible,’ not because she didn’t love her family, but because she wanted to do college on her own.

​Even though many told her that she’d wish her parents were there in due time, when Justin and her mom told her they were moving, it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. However, three years in, she couldn’t have imagined her family anywhere but by her side.

The highlight is that Armour now gets to watch her younger sister grow up alongside her.

"Having a younger sibling who doesn't fully process the whole ‘playing good, playing bad’ thing is so nice. I can feel that, no matter how I'm playing, she's still there for me, she still loves me. She's gonna have the same perception of me, and see me as her cool older sister who plays club or plays college volleyball. No matter what, she was just so happy to be my sister, and I'm so happy that she's my sister, too. The way that she thinks about me has nothing to do with my performance, and the same thing goes with my parents," said Armour.

While Armour’s development on the court is clear by even a split-second look at her bio, off the court, she’s grown in her faith, something that has been a pillar for her through the trials and tribulations of college athletics.

"Coming to college, a lot of people grow in their faith because you're essentially on your own. You have a new view on life. For me, it’s important to have the ministry and my faith to build my own perspective on navigating these experiences," said Armour.

Now to the future.

Armour has featured in 79 matches over three seasons for the Knights, is just 40 kills away from joining the 1,000-kill club, and has won nearly every individual honor a collegiate volleyball player can — yet her drive hasn’t dimmed in the slightest.

With her final season on the horizon, this chapter of her life is almost finished. Armour has shown future generations of Knights what it means to represent the Black and Gold in every aspect of being a student-athlete.

And senior day this fall, she’ll walk alongside the same person she came on her visit with half a decade ago, Abby Schomers.