ORLANDO - UCF Volleyball is set to close out its road slate of regular season play this week, traveling to Cincinnati Friday and West Virginia Sunday. First serve against the Bearcats is set for 6:30 p.m. and the road finale versus the Mountaineers is set for 12:30 p.m.
Holding Them Down
Within the last five matches, the Knights have held their opponents to a hitting percentage under .200, with the exception of Arizona State. Three of the matches ended with UCF sweeping its opponent, including Texas Tech (.063) and Arizona (.086) on the road and downing Houston (.198) in The Venue. Their skill extends to a five-set match against Iowa State, where the Knights held the Cyclones to .123 clip.
Dominant Defense
Sasha Cohen led the Knights in the attack against the Wildcats hitting .316 for seven kills, the third most behind Avah Armour and Kiki Horne. She garnered six blocks during the match, marking her fifth time reaching six or more blocks in a match this season. Her performance over the weekend pushed her into the Big 12 ranking for blocks, naming her 10th in the conference, averaging 1.16 per set
Avah's All In
Avah Armour announced this week that she will be returning to play her fifth year at UCF. The senior has been at UCF for her entire collegiate career and was the ninth Knight in program history to be named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American a season ago. This year, she leads the program with 3.99 kills per set and is 0.5 points away from eclipsing 1500 in her storied career.
Heading North
The Knights will travel to Ohio on Friday, Nov. 13 to face Cincinnati and to West Virginia in a matchup against the Mountaineers on Sunday, Nov. 15. In the early stages of conference play, the Bearcats swept the Knights, but not without a fight. The match ended 25-22, 31-29 and 25-18 across the three sets, and with six Big 12 wins under its belt, UCF has a stronger approach to face Cincinnati. The Knights previously defeated the Mountaineers 3-1 at home on Oct. 18 and are looking for a repeat win on the road.
Knights on Fire
UCF enters its weekend road series on a three-game win streak, its second within Big 12 conference play. The only interruption since finding its rhythm was a top-10 loss against Arizona State on the road. After putting in the work to continue being a Big 12 contender, the Knights are hoping to continue their streak and best both Cincinnati and WVU. At home, UCF took down both Houston and Iowa State, sweeping the former and securing a competitive five-set win over the latter.
The Return of Schomers
After being sidelined for three weeks with an arm injury, Abby Schomers made her return to the lineup in dominant fashion, leading the Knights to back-to-back wins in The Venue. Her first match back, the setter dished out 47 assists in the five-set fight over Iowa State, a total that is the second most for the redshirt-senior this season. In the sweep of the Cyclones, she set up 32 assists, but was an astonishing 4-for-4 in kills, ending the point on every set dump attempt. Schomers, a five-year player at UCF, brings a familiarity to the UCF offense and defense as a steady presence on the court.
Hitting Percentage
The Knights rank third in the Big 12 in hitting percentage, boasting a .277 clip through all 23 matches. The mark is in large part due to the efforts of UCF’s middles, Ella Chapman and Sasha Cohen. Cohen ranks fourth in the league with a .383 clip, while Chapman is firing on a .377 clip of her own. The Knights have hit .280 or higher in 14 matches this season and have eclipsed .300 on 10 occasions.