TAMPA, November 29, 2023 – The University of South Florida volleyball team (17-10, 11-5 AAC) will head to the Big Apple to face the Buffalo Bulls in the first round of the 2023 NIVC Tournament on the campus of St. John’s on Friday at 4 p.m.
On Sunday night, South Florida earned an invitation to the NIVC. It is the fourth NIVC bid in program history. The Bulls first went to the NIVC in 1989 when it was called the WIVC. South Florida has been to the NIVC twice after that, once in 1994 and then in 2018. The Bulls have posted a 3-5 record in the NIVC.
If South Florida wins on Friday, they will play the winner of the St. John’s-Howard match on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Bulls are 3-8 against St. John’s and have never played Howard.
For the first time since 2020, the Bulls earned at least one spot on the American Athletic All-Conference first team and landed two for the first time since 2013. On Tuesday, Buse Hazan and Maria Clara Andrade earned a spot on the All-Conference first team.
Junior Caroline Dykes joined on the honors, earning a spot on the AAC All-Conference Second team. It was the first AAC All-Conference honors for the trio in their careers.
South Florida went to five sets four times in conference play and seven times in the regular season. South Florida only lost two matches in five sets. Once was against then, no. 11 Florida during the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational. The next was two weeks later when the Bulls traveled to South Dakota.
South Florida’s home court is in The Corral. This season, they have split their time between The Corral and the Yuengling Center. Of the six matches played in The Corral, the Bulls were undefeated, doing so with a five-set win over Rice on Wednesday. The last time the Bulls finished the regular season undefeated in The Corral was back in 1996. South Florida went 16-0 in The Corral.
WEEKEND ROUND UP
Buffalo Bulls (23-8, 13-5 MAC)
Date: December 1 | 4 p.m.
Series vs. Buffalo: Series tied, 1-1
Scouting the opponent:
- Buffalo finished the MAC Tournament with a 3-0 loss to Bowling Green in the semifinals.
- The Bulls landed five players on the All-MAC Team, a program record.
- Katrin Trebichavska leads the team with 392 kills this season.
- Maria Futey is averaging 3.72 digs per set, totaling 431 this season.
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. 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 –
