Shocker volleyball suffered another loss for the second time this season against the University of Central Florida. 

The first set was a success. The Shockers took the lead with the largest upper hand by immediately scoring points.

The Shockers eventually earned a 17-9 lead  in the first stanza and won (25-21). 

Defensive specialist and libero for the shockers Katie Calligan had 7 digs and an assist against the Knights on Oct. 30. 

“I feel like the whole energy at first set was super fun to play with,” Calligan said. “I think that’s when we play our best volleyball [and] mentally mess with the other team.”

However, the Shockers fell short during the following three sets losing 3-1 (18-25), (23-25), and (16-25). 

Earlier this season, Shocker volleyball previously lost to UCF in the first three sets. 

Head coach Chris Lamb studied the videos of the game and the team practiced in the areas they needed to improve to succeed in following games. 

“They got us pretty good when they were over here a few weeks ago, and I just told them…I want a better outcome,” Lamb said. “I want a better result.”

Redshirt Junior outside hired Brylee Kelly had 12 kills in the Shockers match against UCF earlier this season. Throughout Sunday’s game, Kelly had 10 kills and three assists. 

“We had a better outcome compared to the last time we played them…” Kelly said. “But a game I feel like we could have had, a learning experience.”

During the third set, the teams went back and forth with points scored. 

The knights offense overpowered the shockers during the fourth and final set of the game. UCF’s McKenna Melville recorded 23 kills. 

“McKenna Melville is a great player,” Kelly said. “She is going to be an all American again and that’s awesome to play against and I felt like we maybe got in her head a little bit and that’s something to be proud of because not a lot of teams do that.”

Despite a challenging game, the team and Kelly are optimistic on future games and are taking the experiences from this match to get better in the future. 

“As a team out there it felt great,” Kelly said. “We did some great things which is a great positive to take into this weekend, which is another big weekend. …We had them and we need to learn how to be in the moment and grab it.”  

Up next, the Shockers will play at East Carolina on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.