USF opened its 2021 home slate in front of a sold-out crowd at The Corral.
TAMPA (September 3, 2021) – In front of a standing-room only crowd of 527 on Friday night, the University of South Florida Bulls (1-3) played their first home match of the season at The Corral and gave the Miami Hurricanes (4-0) a competitive match before suffering a loss in four sets.
Miami entered the contest having played three matches on the year without dropping a single set until USF put an end to that streak. The Hurricanes ultimately prevailed by set scores of 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-25.
Despite falling behind in the opening set, 6-1, the Bulls hung with the Hurricanes for the duration. South Florida inched to within one point of the lead at 12-11 on a block by Amanda DeWitt (Jupiter) and Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) and later put together a four-point run to knot the score at 15-15.
DeWitt started the run with a kill while Alexis Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) dropped an ace on the Hurricanes and Tizi Puljiz (Resistencia, Argentina) floored a pair of kills.
With the score tied at 16-16, Miami pulled away for good with a five-point run and went on to close out the opening game.
The Bulls again kept the score close for a majority of set two, but were plagued by nine attacking errors while recording just eight kills.
Both teams finished the match with 13 blocks as the net defenders made things difficult for attackers on either side for the entire night.
USF continued to swing away, and in set three, overcame Miami. The Bulls floored 14 kills in the set while adding a pair of service aces to extend the match to a fourth game.
Puljiz downed back-to-back kills in the third set to seal the win and finished the night with a team-high 10.
Notable
- Puljiz tallied her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 12 digs.
- DeWitt finished the night with new career highs in kills (4) and blocks (4).
- Kelsey O’Loughlin (Fort Lauderdale) and Eke Denessen (Venlo, Netherlands) combined for 31 assists.
- Ragan Kinard recorded a career-best four blocks.
- CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) paced USF with 13 digs and is now just 10 away from claiming sole possession of fourth place all-time in program history (1,301).
Up Next
The Bulls will travel to Jacksonville this weekend for three matches at the Dolphin Classic. USF plays Long Island University and Furman University on Friday, September 10 and concludes action against host Jacksonville on Saturday.
About USF Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her second season at the helm of her alma mater in 2021-22. Named head coach on Jan. 8, 2020, Shepardson led the Bulls’ program to its last conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance as a student-athlete in 2002. USF made its last postseason appearance in 2018, posting 20 wins and appearing in the NIVC. USF Volleyball has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won 12 conference titles since its inception in 1972 and is entering its 50th campaign in 2021-22. The Bulls play in The Corral (1,000), adjacent to the Yuengling Center on the USF campus.
Be sure to follow USF women’s volleyball on social media (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
