USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com
TAMPA, Oct. 18, 2019 – The USF women’s volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Tulsa Friday at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla., as the Bulls began a two-game road swing.
USF (7-14, 1-6 American) saw Tulsa (12-8; 5-2 American) improve to 5-2 in conference play taking the match in three sets, 25-14, 25-13, 25-22. Tulsa outhit the Bulls .200 to .019 on the night and collected 53 digs. USF was led by freshmen or sophomores in kills, assists, blocks and digs on the night.
Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Pliapol (Daytona Beach, Fla.) led the Bulls with five kills and five blocks on the night. She pushed her career-best and team-leading season total of kills to 251. Freshman Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) posted a team high six kills to go with two blocks.
Sophomore setter Lauren LaBeck (Chicago, Ill.) surpassed her 2018 season assist total of 474 as she posted 15 assists on the night to stand at 483 for the season. Sophomore Libero CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) posted a team-best 18 digs.
Tulsa jumped to a 12-7 lead in the first set before a run pulled the Bulls to within two at 12-10 following a block by Pliapol and Legg. Tulsa pulled away in the set hitting .257 to take a 25-14 win.
Tulsa continued to roll in the second set, jumping to a 15-5 lead before a pair of kills by Barnhart pulled the Bulls within 16-10. Tulsa hit .364 in the set to post a 25-13 victory.
The Bulls rallied to jump to an early 3-0 lead in the third set, but Tulsa quickly regained the momentum and ran of six straight points. A big block by Pliapol and Nye Musemuna (Avon, Ind.) gave the Bulls a 15-14 lead. The teams battled close the rest of the set. Freshman Jac St. Cin (St. Petersburg, Fla.) brought the Bulls within on, 23-22, with a late kill, but the Hurricanes closed the door with a 25-22 victory.
USF will complete its two-game road swing on Sunday when the Bulls take on Wichita State in a 2 p.m. start.
Notables
• Lauren LaBeck posted a new career season-best assist total reaching 483 for the year.
• Freshman or sophomores led the Bulls in kills, assists, digs and blocks on the night.
About USF Women’s Volleyball
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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.
