USF shows balanced attack led by Cvitkovic & Barnhart
TAMPA, FEB. 13, 2021 – The USF women’s volleyball team (3-3; 1-1 American) dropped its rematch with Temple (5-1; 1-1 American) in The Corral on Saturday in the second American Athletic Conference contest for both programs.
USF took an early lead by winning set one, but Temple claimed the second, third, and fourth sets to take a 3-1 victory: 20-25, 25-20, 28-26, and 25-18. The Bulls won the first meeting on Friday in five sets.
The Bulls were led by freshman Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia) with 16 kills, 9 digs and three blocks. Middle blocker Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) marked a new career-high with 12 kills while hitting a team-best .500 and sophomore Jac St. Cin (St. Petersburg) posted 11 kills. Freshman Agata Plaga (Gizycko, Poland), who played her second game post injury, marked 10 kills and three digs as the Bulls had four players with double-digit kills for the first time on the season. Junior setter Maria Idjilov (Republic of Moldova) added 47 assists and a career-best 18 digs.
The first set was a close, see-saw battle until, with the match tied 19, the Bulls mounted a 4-0 run
capped by kills from Cvitkovic and Barnhart. Barnhart wrapped up the first set with an ace as the Bulls took the first stanza, 25-20.
Early in the second set, the Bulls posted a 3-0 run with a kill from Cvitkovic and an ace by Clausen to take an 8-6 lead. Temple tied it at 9-9. The Bulls continued a balanced attack, and a pair of kills from St. Cin helped stake them to a 17-16 lead. With the match tied at 17-17, Temple used a 6-1 run to take a 22-18 lead and force a USF timeout. The Owls kept up the pressure and took the second set at 25-20, after hitting .389.
Similar to the first match on Friday, Temple jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the third set, forcing a Bulls time out. USF began to rally with a kill by Makayla Washington (Tallahassee), but Temple rebuilt to a 13-7 lead, forcing a second USF time out. A combo block by Idjilov and Cvitkovic forced a Temple time out at 15-17. The Bulls put together a 7-1 run, tying the score at 17-17. A pair of kills from St. Cin and a big Barnhart kill helped USF lead 24-22, but the Bulls couldn’t close it out and Temple rallied to take the set, 28-26.
The Bulls rallied for an early tie in the fourth set but used a timeout as Temple built a 13-9 lead following a 6-2 run. Washington gave the Bulls two kills in an attempt to catch Temple at 16-21, but the Owls closed out the match with a 25-18 fourth set victory, hitting .246 to the Bulls .191 in the final frame.
NOTABLE
• Ally Barnhart marked a new career high with 12 kills.
• Masha Idjilov posted a new career-best 18 digs.
• For the first time this season, the Bulls had four players with double-digit kills: Cvitkovic (16), Barnhart (12), St. Cin (11) and Plaga (10).
• Temple hit .246 in the match to the Bulls .191
NEXT UP
The Bulls will play their first conference games away from The Corral against ECU on Feb. 18th at 6 p.m. and Feb. 19th at 2 p.m.
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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