TAMPA, August 28, 2023 – USF volleyball coach Jolene Shepardson, an upbeat positive thinker, has introduced several mantras for her players this season.
Be United.
Love The Game.
Love Each Other.
Be Brave.
The Bulls were all of that — and so much more — on Saturday night before a program home record crowd of 6,877 at the rocking-and-rolling Yuengling Center. They were fearless, fun-loving and aggressive.
Even though they fell short of what would’ve been one of the biggest triumphs in program history — the pushed-to-the-brink No. 11-ranked Florida Gators prevailed in a superb five-setter, 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-16, 15-8 at the Road 2 Tampa Bay Volleyball Invitational — it was a confidence-building display for the Bulls as they anticipate their American Athletic Conference schedule.
Oh, what a night!
And oh, what a fight!
“I love to see them play so powerfully and so gracefully,’’ Shepardson said. “We hit so hard. We played great defense. We served extremely well. I think Florida turned it on (in the final two sets) and good for them, but I think we rose to a higher level as well. It was just great volleyball.’’
When USF last defeated Florida in volleyball — 1990 — Shepardson was in the fifth grade. None of the Bulls players had been born. Mary Wise, now entering her 33rd season with the Gators, was not yet the Florida coach.
So when the Bulls took a 2-1 set lead by outplaying the Gators — with a flurry of clean kills, defensive hustle and teamwork — it was a sight to behold. And the crowd responded, filling the arena with noise as the upset possibilities slowly climbed from unlikely to possible to borderline probable.
“We had to work,’’ Gators setter Alexis Stucky said. “South Florida has a really good team and that was a tough match. The fans on both sides made it fun.’’
“It was just fire out there,’’ Bulls sophomore outside hitter Buse Hazan said. “We really wanted it. We believed we could get it and that showed in our actions. The feeling on the court was just awesome.’’
Hazan, a 6-foot native of Istanbul, Turkey who played only six matches last season due to a broken foot, earned a spot on the event’s all-tournament team after registering 20 kills against the Gators. In one eye-popping stretch during the third set — with the Gators leading 20-18 — Hazan decided the next six points with five thunderous kills and a block. When the Gators closed to 24-22, Hazan closed out the set with another kill.
“I was jumping so high in the air, so determined to get the kills and I just wanted to win that set so bad,’’ Hazan said.
“When she was in the air, you could just tell that Buse’s entire body was going into the swing,’’ said USF freshman Lia Schneider, who had 16 digs and was named the tournament’s most outstanding libero. “She was so crafty with her shots.’’
“Buse has a really fast arm and a lot of skill, so she’s hard to defend,’’ Shepardson said. “She played awesome, but we had so many others that stepped up and that gives us such great hope moving forward. They are all buying into what we’re cultivating.’’
The Bulls got valiant efforts at the net from Amanda DeWitt, Ragan Kinard, Lauren Lewis and Maria Clara Andrade, plus plenty of support from Schneider, Kelsey O’Loughlin and Caroline Dykes.
The event, a prelude to the NCAA Volleyball Final Four coming to Tampa in December with USF and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission hosting, began Friday night at downtown Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
USF opened with a three-set defeat against No. 20-ranked Georgia Tech, which prevailed 25-23, 25-12, 25-13. USF led 21-17 in the first set and had it 23-23 before falling on a Georgia Tech kill and an attack error.
Before the match, the storyline was obvious — Shepardson was opposing Georgia Tech coach Michelle Collier, the best Bulls volleyball player ever and a USF Athletic Hall of Famer. Shepardson and Collier were dual outside hitters for the Bulls in 2001 and 2002.
But afterward, those connections had been dismissed. USF players were focused on the first-set potential they flashed.
“When I look across the net (at Georgia Tech’s players), I’m thinking we can win this match,’’ Hazan said. “And I think if we would’ve played better, we would’ve done that. We need to improve our game and we will have that result.’’
The Bulls (0-2) will seek their first match victory during the USF Invitational, when Idaho State, Florida Gulf Coast and Mercer visit the Yuengling Center on Friday and Saturday. Shepardson said she hopes the weekend’s record crowd will include lots of repeat customers.
“You’re going to continue to see energy, competitiveness and power from these young women, so I would ask people to come back and keep supporting them,’’ Shepardson said. “We had a great environment, so let’s keep that up because I think we have a bright future and this is a team that deserves your attention.’’
About USF Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her fourth season at the helm of her alma mater in 2023. 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 52nd campaign in 2023-24. The Bulls play in The Corral (1,000), adjacent to the Yuengling Center on the USF campus.
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