TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 8, 2006) ? The University of South Florida volleyball team won its 700th-career match in the program's history with a 3-0 (30-18, 30-18, 30-24) victory over instate rival Jacksonville University Friday night in day one of the Smoothie King Invite held at The Corral.
Since volleyball started at USF in 1972, the team has compiled an all-time record of 700-484-2 (.591).
The Bulls evened their record to 3-3, and all three wins have been three-game sweeps over their opponents. Jacksonville's record drops to 4-3 on the year.
“I was really pleased with the team and especially to go 3-0 and pick up the program's 700th-career win,” head coach Claire Lessinger said. “I thought our team represented the program well tonight reaching this milestone. We played as a team and challenged ourselves out there and that is what USF volleyball is about.”
Junior Kristina Fabris has a solid outing on the court, tallying her 13th-career double-double with a 13-kill, 11-dig effort. The Ontario, Canada, native paced the team in hitting percentage, converting 23 attacks into 13 kills to hit .435.
Freshman Marcela Gurgel continued her strong offensive season, leading the team in kills for the sixth-straight time with 15 in the match. Newcomer Brittany Castelamare got the start as the team's setter and contributed immediatly, netting 41 assists in her first collegiate start.
USF started out the match strong, overpowering the Dolphins with its offense to win game one and two 30-18, 30-18. In game one, the Bulls overcame a two-point deficit and eventually took an eight-point lead, 17-9. The Bulls' offense continued to surge as it hit .226 to JU's .040. USF continued its momentum into game two, jumping out to an 18-4 lead. The Bulls didn't give the Dolphins a chance to make a comeback, limiting their offensive chances while continuing its stellar play. USF held Jacksonville to a hitting percentage of .032 while improving its percentage to .250.
Game three proved to be more challenging for USF, as the Dolphins kept trying to make a comeback. Although USF had the lead throughout the entire game, the Dolphins cut a six-point deficit down to three points twice in the game. That was as close as the Bulls would let its in-state rival get to the lead, finishing off JU with a 4-0 run for a final score of 30-24.
USF continues tournament action on Saturday when it hosts day two of the Smoothie King Invite. The Bulls will take on Wright State (1-7) at noon and conclude the tournament facing Texas Tech (5-2) at 6 p.m. Currently USF and TTU are undefeated in the tournament (1-0).
