GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2006) ? The University of South Florida volleyball team lost its season opener to No. 5-ranked University of Florida, 3-0 (30-14, 30-17, 30-15), Friday night in Gainesville, Fla., at the Aquafina Invitational.

“For us to come in and face the No. 5 team in the country, we did a lot of good things that we worked on in preseason,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “When you play a team that is that physical, it is tough to defend?they controlled the tempo of the match. I was really pleased with our players. They showed a lot of heart. These are just a lot of things that are going to help us for tomorrow night and the rest of the season.”

Newcomer Marcela Gurgel led the way for the team in offense, tallying eight kills. Senior Juliana Nogueira, who took a red-shirt year in 2005 due to an injury, had a solid performance as the setter, netting 23 assists while tying for the team-high in digs (8) with Stephanie Augustavo.

USF (0-1) opened up game one scoring three straight points before allowing Florida to get on the board. After the Bulls took a 4-1 advantage, the Gators sparked their offense and went on an 11-1 run to take a 12-5 lead. The Bulls could not overcome the deficit and dropped game one, 30-14.

Game two featured the Bulls and the Gators battling for the lead, as there were five ties and five lead changes. Florida then opened up the game taking an 11-6 advantage thanks to scoring five unanswered points. The Bulls cut the lead down to three, but could not get any closer to Florida, losing 30-17.

After Florida (1-0) opened up game three with a 3-1 lead, the Bulls came within one point, 4-3. The Gators went on a 4-1 run, making the score 8-4. USF scored two straight points to cut the deficit down to two points, 8-6, but Florida went on a 7-2 run to take control of the game, 15-8. Once the Gators had the lead, they never relinquished it and won the game, 30-15.