Bulls and Owls split matches last season
MATCHUP: USF vs. Temple
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. – The Corral
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFVolleyball
TAMPA, FEB. 11, 2021 – The USF women’s volleyball team opens American Athletic Conference play this weekend with a pair of matches vs. Temple at The Corral on the USF campus. It will mark the Bulls’ annual Ace Cancer game supporting the fight to end cancer.
Both matches are set for a 1 p.m. first serve and can be watched live on ESPN+ with live audio also available on the iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited channel. All of USF’s home matches on the 2020 campaign, moved from the fall to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Due to virus mitigation measures and the size of the venue, USF will have limited fan attendance via team pass list only at The Corral.
This will be the 21st and 22nd meetings in the series, which USF leads 14-6 overall and 11-4 in Tampa. The Bulls and Owls split the series last year with USF taking a 3-0 win at The Corral and Temple rallying from two sets down in Philadelphia to take a 3-2 win, taking the final three sets 25-22, 26-24 and 15-11, in the final meeting of 2019.
USF is 2-5 overall in American Athletic Conference openers and 1-3 at home, winning their last AAC opener vs. Temple in the fall of 2019.
OPPONENT
Temple comes to Tampa with a 4-0 record on the season after knocking off defending Big East champion St. John’s and Coppin State last weekend.
Junior setter Tyler Lindgren was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week after dishing out 11.67 assists per set and adding 2.83 digs per frame last weekend as the Owls hit .267 as a team.
THE BULLS
USF opens its eighth season of AAC play and has posted one winning conference campaign in the previous seven seasons.
The Bulls are led by freshmen Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia) who has logged 65 kills. She ranks fourth in The American in kills per set (3.82) and is fifth in overall points per set (4.59)
Sophomore middle blocker Makayla Washington (Tallahassee) ranks fourth in the AAC in blocking with 1.12 per set.
Junior setter Maria Idjilov (Republic of Moldova) has quickly assumed the Bulls leadership mantle as a team captain and vocal hub of the offense. She brings 168 assists into the weekend and ranks fourth in The American in services aces with 0.53 per set.
The Bulls have been strong on the serve attack, standing second in the conference posting 1.82 aces per set.
ESPN+
The American Athletic Conference and ESPN began a new 12-year television rights agreement starting in 2020-21. USF will stream numerous home athletic events to ESPN+ this spring. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $5.99 monthly or $49.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
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.
– #GoBulls –
