Armour and Schomers Reach Historic Milestones as Volleyball Sweeps NC State

ORLANDO - Avah Armour and Abby Schomers have done it all together. Back in September 2021, they came on their recruiting visit together. In 2023, they started their first collegiate match together. And today, each reached historic milestones, with the help of one another, as UCF volleyball swept NC State, 25-21, 25-20, 28-26, at The Venue Sunday Afternoon. 

Along with the three-set triumph over the Wolfpack, the Knights swept the Black & Gold Classic for the second-consecutive season, disposing of their opponents in a combined 10 sets, and with today’s match serving as the first sign of the culture in Orlando.

During the matches opening set, an Armour kill off a perfect set from Schomers garnered the latter her 3,000th career assist, while minutes later, another stellar set from Schomers secured Armour her 1,000th career kill, a fitting combination to highlight a truly impressive display from the squad.

QUICK HITS

• Abby Schomers became the fifth Knight in program history to surpass 3,000 career assists in the win, with her 38 on the night and 114 across the weekend giving the senior 3,033 to her name.
• Her 11.40 assists per set serves as a Big 12 lead after the opening weekend and the highest average over 10 sets in her career. Schomers also now sits just 132 assists behind Marie Reiterova (2010-14) for fourth all-time in program history.
• Armour put a close on a remarkable weekend by surpassing the 1k mark in career kills, tallying 54 on the weekend to give 1,014 kills to her name. The senior became the 15th Knight in program history to achieve the feat and the first since Anne-Marie Watson in 2021.
• The Colorado native tallied an incredible 6.4 points per set (64 total) this weekend, each Big 12 leads through the opening weekend.
• The Knights have tallied 10 or more blocks in three-consecutive matches for the first time under Botsford, with a formidable 36 across the weekend.
• Kiki Horne boasted an impressive 10 kills on a .600 hitting percentage, reaching double-digits for the first time as a Knight.

HOW IT HAPPPENED

Schomers made her presence felt immediately during set one, with a dump and a block giving the hosts’ their first two points of the match. A pair of early kills from Armour, along with a bundle from Natasha Casey put the Knights up two at the media timeout.

Out of the break, the Black and Gold pieced together multiple three-point runs to pull away with the set, as the aforementioned Armour milestone served as the set-winner. 

The Wolfpack, looking to claw their way back into the match, opened a substantial lead, first jumping out 8-5 before amassing a 16-11 advantage after the media timeout. Looking for a spark, Sasha Cohen tallied a kill before Mikayla Porter’s signature serve gathered two more points for the Knights.

A balanced attack flipped the script down the stretch, as once down five, UCF went on a 14-4 run to take back control of the set and the match. Armour put the finishing touches on the second with yet another explosive kill off an Alexa Haley assist.

While the first two sets were decided by a combined nine points, the third was truly a back-and-forth affair.

After opening a 12-9 lead, NC State went on a 9-4 run to take a 20-17 lead of its own into the final stages. However, after an Armour kill, brilliant service from Haley caused havoc for the Wolfpack, with the Knights capitalizing on a timely solo block from Cohen level the set at 21-all.

UCF had three match points before NC State continued to fight back, pushing the contest to 26-all. Horne’s 10th kill of the night gave the hosts yet another opportunity for the win, and this time they took it, as a solo block from Armour secured the sweep.

UP NEXT

The Knights will embark on their first road trip of the season, venturing to Wake Forest for a three-match weekend from September 4-6 with tilts against Georgetown, the Demon Deacons and Davidson.