MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team (6-8, 0-3 Big 12) fell to UCF, 3-0 on Wednesday night inside of the Venue at UCF in Orlando, Florida. The Knights claimed the victory with scores of 16-25, 23-25 and 17-23.
 
The Mountaineers were led by sophomore middle blocker Maddy McGath who tallied a .267 hitting percentage with seven kills. Junior middle blocker Laila Ibrahim led the defense with five total blocks.
 
UCF kicked off set one with an early lead, 8-1. A block from Ibrahim and McGath sparked a short 2-0 scoring run for WVU, as the Mountaineers trailed, 14-5. The Knights stormed ahead, until a 6-0 run from the Mountaineers brought the score to 20-12. A solo block from junior opposite Lauren Bodily counted as the last point of the set for the Mountaineers, as UCF took the set, 25-16.
 
The Knights once again led in the second set, 2-0. A kill from Bodily and an ace from graduate student libero Sydney Reed knotted the score at two all. The score went on to be tied again at seven, after a kill from sophomore setter Alexis Finnvold and a UCF error. A 3-0 West Virginia run tied it all up again at 14, before the Knights dropped down three unanswered points to take the lead, 17-14. A kill from Bodily and a trio of UCF errors, got the score within one, 24-23. The Knights went on to seal set two, 25-23.
 
Set three began with yet another UCF lead, 6-1. A 4-0 WVU run knotted the score at nine, before a trio of Knight points would make the score 12-9. UCF extended their lead with seven straight points, 20-11. A solo block from junior middle blocker Chalina Lederer and an ace from Reed looked to spark the WVU offense as they trailed 21-14. McGath would lay down the last kill of the night for the Mountaineers as UCF took the third and final set, 25-17.
 
Next, WVU will continue Big 12 road play, facing Houston on Oct. 4 in Houston, Texas. First serve is set for 8 p.m., ET inside the Fertitta Center.