UH volleyball took down UCF in five sets on Friday night in Orlando, Florida, for the Cougars’ first win over the Golden Knights since 2017.
Houston jumped ahead 6-3 to begin the first set but UCF quickly rallied back to tie the set at seven.
The Knights continued their run to lead of 15-10 highlighted by a series of successful kills and mistakes by the Cougars. UCF rode its momentum to a 25-18 first set victory.
In set two, both teams kept each other on their toes as the score remained close throughout the entire set.
UCF led 18-15 before UH went on a run of its own. A service ace by sophomore setter Annie Cooke tied it 23 followed an attack error by UCF to put Houston 24-23 inching the Cougars closer to a set two win. A kill by junior outside hitter Abbie Jackson helped UH take a 25-23 set two victory.
Set three started began with UH taking a 7-5 lead.
The Cougars’ expanded their lead to 22-14.
UCF rallied back, scoring six consecutive points to close the gap but the Cougars held off the Knights comeback efforts. A kill by senior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson and two back-to-back kills by Jackson made secured a 25-20 third set victory for UH.
Looking to force a fifth set, UCF held a narrow 17-15 midway through the fourth set. UH made it close, trading points with the UCF but the Knights were ultimately able to win the set 25-22.
The Cougars found themselves in a hole in the fifth set as the Knights scored four consecutive points to jump ahead 11-9.
But UH remained unfazed, taking six of the next seven points capped off by a kill from Jackson to win the set 15-12 and take the match 3-2.
With the win, UH improved to 14-3 on the season and 4-1 in American Athletic Conference play.