MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team (7-12) fell in three sets to UCF on Wednesday evening at the Venue at UCF in Orlando, Florida. The Knights claimed the match victory, with set scores of 25-11, 25-22 and 25-23.
Junior outside hitter Hailey Green collected 12 kills to lead the squad. Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Miller trailed behind with seven kills on the night. Redshirt senior Lauren DeLo contributed 23 assists, paired with a service ace. Freshman middle blocker Emma Beretich collected two of West Virginia’s four total blocks.
West Virginia added four service aces from DeLo, Miller, freshman Sarah Gooch and sophomore Samiha Foster compared to the Knights’ three.
The Knights took the early 10-3 lead and held on to that momentum throughout the rest of the first set. A kill by Green and a service ace from Foster helped to slow the Knights offense, with a 2-0 West Virginia scoring run. UCF would respond with kills from all over the court for the 25-11 set one win.
West Virginia started off slow in the second, before clapping back with a five-point scoring run to tie it at 10. It was a set of back-and-forth, until the Knights would grab ahold of the lead at 16-13. The Mountaineers rose yet again for another 5-0 run but were halted by a quick three-point response from UCF. Late kills by Green and sophomore middle blocker Tierney Jackson sparked hope for West Virginia, before the Knights would go on to clinch the second, 25-22.
The Mountaineers rallied in the third, hitting for a match high .290. Green struck first, with West Virginia grabbing a 5-3 lead. The lead would go on to change seven times, with the score being tied 16 times throughout the set. A pair of Kills from Green and a solo shot by Beretich gave the Gold and Blue the 16-14 advantage over the Knights. UCF responded with three straight, taking back the game at 18-17. Green and Miller were the only two Mountaineers to score from the 17th point on, and the Knights would take it all with the 25-23 set three victory.
West Virginia returns home on Saturday, Oct. 14 to host TCU at 2 p.m. ET, at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Saturday’s match is Youth Day as well as Mountaineer Kids Club Day, with special appearances by the MKC mascot, Musket and Mr. Twister’s Balloon Art and Face Painting. Children ages eighth grade and under are invited to stay after the match for a free postgame clinic with the team.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on TwitterInstagram, Facebook.
2023-10-12 02:42:50
#West #Virginia #Falters #UCF #West #Virginia #University #Athletics
