TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 16, 2005) ? The USF volleyball team posted its first win of the season, ending its seven-match losing streak of the 2005 season by beating in-state foe UCF, 3-1 (30-19, 33-35, 30-19, 30-23), Friday night at The Corral.
“I am just really pleased with the team,” said USF coach
Claire Lessinger. “We've been working hard for a number of weeks now and it finally paid off. The team put some things together tonight. They communicated extremely well. We followed the game plan really well. There were a lot of consistent things going on out there that haven't happened up until this point and it resulted in a win.”
The Bulls (1-7) posted a convincing win, dominating the Golden Knights (2-5) both offensively and defensively, while out-scoring UCF by 27 points. USF registered its season high in hitting percentage, hitting .262 compared to UCF's .125, which marked the first time this season USF hit over .200. The Bulls notched more kills (59-48), assists (54-47), aces (13-8), digs (57-53) and blocks (10.5-6.0) than the Golden Knights.
Kristina Fabris, the 2004 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, tallied her fifth career double-double ? and her second straight ? in a 22-kill, 16 dig effort. Fabris tied her career high in kills and set a new career high in aces (4) and points (29.0) in the match. The Ontario, Canada, native also had the team high and her season high in hitting percentage (.439), while finishing tied for first in block assists (4).
Michelle Stalbaum had another solid performance, leading the team in aces with six, while recording seven kills and eight digs. The Gainesville, Fla., native also set her career best in block assists with four.
Setter
Kate Verhoff continued her stellar freshman campaign, tying her career high in digs with 12, while notching 48 assists.
USF opened up game one with a 9-2 run and never looked back as it took the early lead and never relinquished it. The Bulls put on a dominating performance on both sides, out-hitting the Golden Knights .458 to .143 and posting three total blocks while UCF didn't register one.
In game two USF struggled, hitting .196 compared to the Golden Knights' .300. After the Bulls took a 6-3 lead, the score would then be tied up 12 times and feature seven lead changes before UCF sealed the deal, 35-33. The Bulls committed four extra errors than UCF, thus giving up as many points.
The Bulls rebounded in game three with a strong offensive performance, hitting .379, while holding UCF to a dismal hitting percentage of .036.
Johari Williams hit .750, posting three kills in four attempts. With the score tied 7-7, USF went on an 8-0 run and remained in the lead for the remainder of the game to take the 2-1 advantage, 30-19.
In game four the Golden Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never saw it again, as the Bulls tied it up and then went on an 8-1 run to take command of the game and win the deciding game, 30-23. The closest UCF would come within the lead was four points.
The Bulls will look to continue their winning momentum into next weekend's BIG EAST season opener in Milwaukee, Wis., when they face Marquette on Friday at 8 p.m.
