USF continues home stand Saturday vs. Indiana at 2 and Stetson at 7
TAMPA, Sept. 20, 2019 – The USF women’s volleyball team (4-7) lost a heartbreaker to the Indiana Hoosiers in five thrilling sets Friday night in The Corral.
A crowd of 410 fans and several dogs on Bark with the Bulls night saw USF come out hot and win the first set, 26-16, before Indiana battled back to take the second, fourth and fifth sets and claim a 16-26, 25-18, 17-25, 25-16, 15-8 victory. Indiana (10-2) also downed Stetson earlier in the day, 3-1.
Sophomore Jac St. Cin (St. Petersburg) continued her outstanding play as she led the Bulls with a career-high 20 kills and .343 hitting percentage while adding four blocks. Lauren LaBeck (Chicago) logged 38 assists and CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) had 19 digs.
The Bulls return to The Corral Saturday for a pair of matches. USF takes on Indiana again at 2 p.m. and Stetson at 7.
The Bulls came out swinging as kills by St. Cin and Jac’cara Walker (Gainesville) combined with some great blocking at the net gave USF an early 14-7 lead in the first set and forced a pair of Indiana timeouts. The Bulls road the momentum all the way to a 26-16 first set victory behind five kills from Walker and four from St. Cin. The Bulls owned the net, recording eight blocks and holding IU to -.061 hitting.
Indiana rebounded with an early 8-3 lead in the second set. USF mounted a comeback, and following a kill from Lindsey Pliapol (Daytona Beach) cut the lead to, 11-9. A pair of kills from Walker and an IU hitting error saw the match tied at 18. Indiana seized the match running off the next seven points to claim a 25-18 victory.
Following a kill from St. Cin and an ace from Clausen, USF took a 7-4 lead in the third. An ace from freshman Jordan Valley (Haslett, Mich.) pushed the lead to 11-6. Kills from Pliapol and Walker put USF up 22-14 and Pliapol’s final swing gave the Bulls a 25-17 victory.
Indiana took an 8-4 lead in the fourth set, forcing a timeout from Draper. IU extended its lead to 13-6 and the Bulls took another timeout. IU built a big lead, but the Bulls rallied, running off five straight points to cut the margin to 17-12. The Hoosiers allowed little from there and took a 25-16 victory to force a fifth set.
St. Cin got the Bulls on the board first with a kill in the fifth set. An Indiana ace gave them their first lead at 5-4, part of a run of six straight points that would give the Hoosiers an 8-4 lead. Walker ended the run, but Indiana responded with a pair of points for a 10-5 lead. USF couldn’t recover and fell, 15-8.
Notables
- Jac St. Cin racked up a career-best 20 kills and a .343 hitting percentage on the night to lead the Bulls. She now has 123 kills on the year. Her 20 on the night are the second-most for a Bull on the season.
- LaBeck posted 38 assists to give her 284 on the season.
Tickets purchases will get you into the tournament for the entire day ($10 for adults, $7 for youth) and can be purchased at USFBullstix.com or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.
About USF Women’s Volleyball
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.
Head coach Courtney Draper led her team to 20 wins in 2018, the most in her time at USF and the most for the program since 2002. The Bulls appeared in the NIVC, the program’s first postseason trip since 2002. Senior outside hitter Jac’cara Walker led USF with 394 kills and recorded her 1000thcareer kill during the 2018 year, on her way to earning first team All-American Athletic Conference honors. USF returns four starters, including its libero, while welcoming 9 newcomers to the fray in 2019 in the form of two transfers and seven freshmen.
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