West Virginia’s Big 12 road trip continued on Wednesday, and after the match in Orlando, new head coach Jen Greeny remains without a Big 12 conference victory.
The Mountaineers fell in three sets to UCF, losing 25-16 in the first, 25-23 in the second, and 25-17 in the third. WVU dropped to 6-8 overall and 0-3 in conference play while UCF improved to 8-4 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 matches.
WVU’s offense struggled to keep up with the Knights’ throughout the match, hitting more than 10 kills in just the second set. The Mountaineers finished with 27 total kills and 19 errors in the match compared to UCF’s 41 kills with 16 errors.
Much of the Mountaineers’ struggles were self-induced in set one, with WVU hitting at a negative rate with seven kills and nine errors in 22 attacks. Outside hitter Cassidy Tanton, libero Sydney Reed, and defensive specialist Quincey Coyle all missed serves in the first as well.
West Virginia hit just two attack errors in its most successful set while UCF stayed consistent with six attack errors. Despite improved hitting, though, WVU still fell in the second, due in part to two missed serves and one blocking error from junior middle Laila Ibrahim, as well as allowing 15 more UCF attacks and eight more kills than they had in set one.
After 17 kills and six errors on 39 attacks in the second set, UCF matched that pace in the third, hitting 15 kills and five errors in 40 attacks to win again.
6-foot-4 junior right side Lauren Bodily was once again a bright spot for WVU in the win. Bodily earned her first start of the season after hitting and blocking well in each of WVU’s first two conference matches. She knocked junior Quincey Coyle to a defensive and serving role off the bench while Hailey Green moved to the outside.
Against UCF, Bodily capitalized on the opportunity, hitting the best attack percentage of all WVU hitters with five kills and one error on 11 attacks. She also recorded a block on her own in the first set and assisted Ibrahim for one in the third.
Captain Hailey Green was moved to the bench in the second set after hitting a kill and three errors in the first set. Coyle took over for Green offensively while freshman Eily Painter played the back row.
Coyle continued to play through much of the third set before Green was given another opportunity, in which she hit two kills and no errors. Coyle finished with a -.125 hitting rate, with two kills and four errors on 16 attacks. Green hit even, with three kills and three errors on eight attacks.
Defensively, only Reed reached double digits in digs, posting 10 in the match. UCF libero Chloe Scheer outplayed Reed, with 18 digs and only two errors, both serving. Reed made one error setting, one error serving, and one error on serve receive. Both liberos served two aces in the match.
West Virginia will close out its three-match road stint on Friday in Houston against the Cougars. The match will begin at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
Photo by Korey Moore, Blue Gold Sports