JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 16, 2005) ? After losing a two-game advantage by allowing Jacksonville to tie up the match and send it to a deciding game five, the USF volleyball team came out strong in the end, overcoming an eight-point deficit to win game five and take the match, 3-2 (30-25, 30-27, 28-30, 25-30, 17-15), against the Dolphins at Swisher Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.
The win marked the second-straight victory for the Bulls (3-14, 1-6 BIG EAST) during the 2005 campaign, as they swept BIG EAST rival Georgetown on Saturday, 3-0, at The Corral.
“I thought it was one of those matches with peaks and valleys especially for us coming out and being up 2-0,” coach
Claire Lessinger said. “We played a phenomenal game one ? almost flawless ? and then we relaxed and let them get back in the match. You have to credit them. They played phenomenal games three and four and really challenged us.
“It came down to the wire. Our kids fought and showed a ton of heart tonight, and I'm really proud of them. I think this was a big bump we overcame today, being put into a situation to be in a game five and to be down like that. For us to come back and win is going to do a lot for our psyche and our moral.”
Three Bulls netted double-digit-kill matches. Sophomore
Kristina Fabris paced the way for USF, posting 17 kills while recording a team-high eight block assists. Junior
Johari Williams chipped in 16 kills, recording her 24th-career double-digit-kill match. Sophomore
Michelle Stalbaum tied Williams for the second-highest kill total with her 16 in the match, while tallying 13 digs to post her second-straight double-double.
Freshman
Kate Verhoff continued to set up the offense while helping out defensively, as she netted her third double-double of the season in a 60-assist, 15-dig match. Her 60 assists and 15 digs set new career highs for the Elyria, Ohio, native.
Game one started out with USF taking a lead and Jacksonville answering back to tie it. It wasn't until a 7-2 run by the Bulls opened up the game in their favor, 12-7. With the advantage, the Bulls let the Dolphins back in the game by allowing them to score four points to the Bulls' one, which cut the lead down to two, 13-11. Jacksonville's comeback sparked USF's offense and it took over from that point, using a 9-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 22-15. The Dolphins mounted another comeback thanks to solid hitting and five Bulls' misplays to cut the lead down to three points, 27-24, but the Bulls closed out the game with the win, scoring the three points needed to post the win, 30-25. In the game USF hit .400 to the Dolphins' .222.
Game two was a battle till the end as it featured 11 ties and five lead changes. Neither team had control of the game, with the largest USF lead at three points and the largest Jacksonville lead at only a point. With the score tied at 21-21, the Bulls scored four-straight points to take a 25-21 lead, never giving it up en route to the game win, 30-27. The Dolphins fought until the very end, cutting the lead down to two, but the USF offense came through in the end and picked up the win, edging Jacksonville with an overall hitting percentage of .222 to its .111.
With USF getting a point to start game three because of a red card issued to Jacksonville for delaying the game, the Dolphins overcame the early penalty to take control and pick up the win, 30-28. With the score tied at 8-8, the Dolphins used a 6-1 run to take control of the game, 14-9. The Bulls would cut into Jacksonville's lead and tie up the score three times, but USF could never regain the advantage and suffered the setback.
The Bulls opened up game four with a 9-3 run. Jacksonville scored five-straight points to cut the lead down to one point, 9-8. USF continued to take a small advantage with the Dolphins always coming within one until, with the Bulls having the 13-12 lead, Jacksonville went on a 12-4 run to take a 24-17 lead. The deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Bulls, as the closest they came within the lead was two points, 27-25, before the Dolphins scored three unanswered points to get the 30-25 win. The Dolphins defense was solid, holding USF to a hitting percentage of .044 compared to Jacksonville's .282.
With the deciding game up for the taking, Jacksonville came out strong using a 10-2 run to open up the deciding set. USF would not let down though, as its offense surged going on an 11-3 run to tie the game at 13-13. With both teams trading points and tying at 15-15, the Bulls rallied for the win, scoring two-straight points, 17-15, thanks to clutch hitting by juniors
Ashley Reavis and Williams.
The Bulls will look to extend their two-match win streak when they hit the road to face BIG EAST foes Notre Dame on Friday at 5 p.m. and DePaul on Sunday at 3 p.m.
