UCF women’s volleyball reverse swept Florida Atlantic, 5-2 in the Knights’ first match of the Seminole Classic in Tully Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
The Black and Gold (5-0) rallied back after being down 2-0 and ended the match with 64 kills while the Owls (5-4) tallied 23 blocks and nine aces.
Britt Carlson led the Knights with a career-high 16 kills on just 23 swings with an incredible .522 attacking percentage. Three others joined the Carlson with double-digit kills, Avah Armour and Heidi Bonde each accumulated 14 kills while Alexia Kuehl recorded 12. Chloe Scheer led the way on the defensive side with 16 digs as Katelyn Grimes and Sophia Kotsovolos notched 14 and 13, respectively. Abby Schomers dished out 53 assists.
The Knights and Owls traded points back and forth until Schomers snuck in a kill to ignite a 4-0 run which forced a Florida Atlantic timeout, 9-5. The Owls chipped away at the Knights’ lead to knot it up, 11-11. After multiple ties, Florida Atlantic broke away with the lead at 16-16 and kept it through the remainder of the set, 25-20.
As both teams fought for the lead in the second set, a 5-0 run early in the set for the Knights helped the Knights grab a 7-4 lead. FAU stayed with the Knights until a 5-1 run allowed them to take the second set, 25-21.
The Black and Gold knew they had a lot of work to do going into the third set down, 2-0. UCF came out ready to fight, and a kill from Bonde ignited a 3-0 spurt, 6-3. An attacking miscue on the Owls led to the Knights taking the lead for good at 20-19. Carlson ended the set with her seventh kill to force a fourth set, 25-22. The Minnesota native recorded an astonishing .750 clip.
With 13 ties and six lead changes, the fourth set was a battle until the end. The Knights took the lead at 16-15 following an attacking error on Florida Atlantic. The Owls weren’t ready to give up after going on a late 3-0 scoring run to get within one, 24-23. A kill from Armour ended the fourth, 25-23.
A kill from Bonde sparked the Knights to go on a 5-1 spurt before the teams switched sides, 8-5. UCF kept its momentum as they continued to fire on all cylinders to hold on to the lead and earn the win following a kill from Kuehl, 15-10.
The Knights round out the Seminole Classic on Sunday, September 15 against No. 21 Florida State at 1 p.m.
