Virginia volleyball hit the road this weekend, traveling down to the sunshine state to take on UCF on their home court. Although the Cavaliers (3-3, 0-0 ACC) hoped to bounce back after their loss Wednesday evening, the Knights (7-1, 0-0 Big 12) crushed those hopes in three straight sets, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21.
The first set started off disastrous for Virginia, and things did not look like they were going to get better. Immediately, UCF found itself on top, 5-2 — a deficit that was totally manageable for the Cavaliers, but what came next was absolute domination by the Knights. Though Virginia was able to sneak in some points here and there, a 6-0 run by UCF ultimately put them up 15-6. The Cavaliers looked defeated going into the much-needed media timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, a service error not only gave Virginia its first point in five minutes, but also gave the team new life. The Cavaliers began to work their way back, slowly but surely, and made it 23-15. A quartet of errors made by the Knights, a kill by fourth-year outside hitter Lauryn Bowie and a service ace by fourth-year libero Katie Barrier allowed Virginia to go on its own 6-0 run, the score now being 23-21…