Freshmen Cvitkovic, Plaga and Washington lead Bulls in season-opening victory
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. JAN. 22, 2021– The USF women’s volleyball team got its 2020 campaign underway with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at UNF Friday, opening head coach Jolene Shepardson’s tenure at USF with a win.
Shepardson, the 12th head coach in program history, became the eighth coach to win their USF debut and the Bulls improved to 28-21 in season-opening matches, winning their last three.
After struggling to gel with several newcomers on the court in the first set, the Bulls found their stride in the second and went on to claim the five-set victory: 23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-12.
The Bulls hit .150 for the match as junior setter Masha Idjilov (Moldova) led the offense with 45 assists. Freshmen Agata Plaga (Gizycko, Poland), Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia) and Makayla Washington (Tallahassee) led the offense with 19, 14 and 9 kills, respectively. Cvitkovic added 17 digs and a team-best four service aces. Junior CC Clausen posted 24 digs and Washington, who redshirted last season with an injury, posted seven blocks to lead the team.
The Bulls battled through a very close first set in their season premiere. The set was tied 19-19, when UNF ran off a pair of points to open a 21-19 lead. USF rallied back to tie the match at 22 on a UNF hitting error. The Osprey called a timeout and posted two straight points to take a 24-22 lead and took the 25-23 win on Solimar Cestero’s second kill of the match. USF newcomers Plaga and Cvitkovic posted four and three kills, respectively, in the first.
The Bulls got a spark from Washington at the net in the second set and took an early 12-8 lead on a pair of Cvitkovic service aces. A Jac St. Cin (St. Petersburg) kill pushed the lead to 15-11. UNF rallied to tie the set at 20-20. A block from Cvitkovic gave the Bulls a 21-20 lead. Washington’s kill made it 22-21 as the teams traded points until the Bulls pulled out a 25-23 victory.
The Bulls took a 13-8 lead in the third on a Plaga block and controlled the set the rest of the way, claiming a 25-18 victory, hitting .312 in the set and posting 15 kills.
UNF rallied in the fourth set and tied it at 12-12. A St. Cin and Washington block gave the Bulls a 13-12 lead, but UNF rallied to take a 20-18 lead before claiming a 25-22 victory. The Bulls struggled posting 12 kills and 12 attack errors in the set.
USF rebounded quickly in the fifth, taking an early 4-2 lead on a Plaga kill and dominating the set by hitting a match-best .360. The Bulls extended the lead to 10-5 following an Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) kill and a UNF hitting error brought home a 15-12 victory to seal the match.
Notables
- USF opened the Shepardson era as head coach with a 3-2 road win at UNF and improved to 7-0 all-time vs. the Osprey. Shepardson became the eighth Bulls head coach to win their opener.
- In her first match as a Bull, freshman Agata Plaga (5-10) posted a team-best 19 kills.
- CC Clausen led the Bulls with 24 digs and now needs just one for 1,000 on her career heading into Saturday’s rematch in Tampa.
- After missing last season due to injury, redshirt freshman Makayla Washington was third on the team with nine kills and led with seven blocks in her first appearance as a Bull.
- Captain Masha Idjilov led the Bulls offense with 45 assists in her first match as a Bull.
Next
The Bulls and Osprey will meet again Saturday at The Corral on the USF campus. That match is slated for a 4 p.m. first serve and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with audio on the Bulls Unlimited channel on iHeart Radio.
About USF Women’s Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson begins her first season at the helm of her alma mater in 2020-21. 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 49th campaign in 2020-21. 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.
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