TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 16, 2005) ?Despite struggling through a tough 2005 season, the University of South Florida volleyball team came out strong in its season finale, dominating North Florida by completing the three-game sweep, 3-0 (30-26, 30-24, 30-23), on Senior Night at The Corral Wednesday.
With the win, the Bulls ended the season on a high note, improving their overall record to 4-22, 1-13 BIG EAST, while posting their second shutout of the year. North Florida's record drops to 19-10, 7-2 A-Sun.
“I was pleased we could end the season that way,” USF coach Claire Lessinger said. “I think the girls committed to each other ? without the coaches ? to leave it all out there tonight. Each one of them committed to doing something as an individual, and they picked what they were going to do and held themselves accountable. I think a lot of that went into the teamwork and resulted in a win tonight. I am just pleased for everyone, the morale of the team that this could happen tonight on Senior Night at home as the last match. I think it's a good way to end everything that's happened.”
USF had everything going for it from the start of the match, while only continuing to improve throughout every game. The Bulls out-hit North Florida .255 to .190 in the match, while tallying 16 more kills (50-34) than the Ospreys. Playing an all-around, solid game, USF took advantage of its serves, netting 13 aces compared to UNF's three. The Bulls came up defensively when needed and out-played the Ospreys by tallying 40 digs to UNF's 29.
Sophomore Michelle Stalbaum led the team's offense, recording 16 attacks to hit .379. Junior Johari Williams posted a career-high hitting percentage of .562, converting 16 attacks into 11 kills. Williams also chipped in two block assists, to tie freshmen Ashley McDowell and Kate Verhoff for the team-best. Sophomore Kristina Fabris played more of a defensive role, leading the team in digs with 10. Senior Kelsi Andrew-Wasylik paced the way for the Bulls in aces with four and chipped in six digs for the second highest total.
In game one, USF went on a 5-2 run to open up the game. North Florida would not let the Bulls build on their advantage, never letting USF get more than three points ahead. With the score tied at 16-16, the Ospreys took their first lead, only for USF to tie it back up 17-17. With both teams trading points and the lead changing hands three times, the Bulls used a 7-1 run to take control of the game, 28-22. Only needing two points for the win USF closed out the game thanks to a kill by Stalbaum and a service error by the Ospreys. USF hit .167 in the game and held its opponent to .075.
Game two started out just as close as the previous set, with the Bulls taking a small advantage to only have North Florida come within one. With the score tied at 13-13, USF took advantage of six Osprey misplays to put regain the lead, 20-15. The lead proved to be too much to overcome for North Florida, as the Bulls won the second game by six points, 30-24. For the second-straight game USF out-hit UNF .306 to .222.
With the win lingering in the air for USF, the Bulls entered the final set looking strong from the beginning. Going on a 12-3 run to open up the final stanza, USF dominated the entire game by never relinquishing its lead and never allowing a tie. The closest UNF would come to the Bulls' lead was by five points, but USF's offense was too strong as it defeated North Florida 30-23. The Bulls served well, netting eight aces to the Ospreys' two. USF improved to hit .321 in the game.
Prior to the match, seniors Andrew-Wasylik, Juliana Nogueira and Flavia Silveira were honored.
