WASHINGTON, D.C. ? The University of South Florida volleyball team came out strong against Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and swept the Hoyas, 3-0 (30-19, 30-24, 30-20), at McDonough Arena.
The Bulls (13-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) were solid all-around from the start and only continued to get better as the match went on. USF edged the Hoyas (5-19, 1-7 BIG EAST) in every category on the stat sheet, including hitting .276 to Georgetown's -.059. The Bulls also tallied 40 kills in the outing, which were 15 more than GU.
Defensively, USF was also as strong, netting 11.0 blocks and 36 digs to the Hoyas 8.0 blocks and 27 digs.
Leading the way for the USF offense was senior Kristina Fabris with 11 kills. Alli Arbogast paced the way for all Bull players with a .600 hitting percentage, converting 10 attacks into seven kills.
Marcela Gurgel was the team's defensive leader, netting 12 digs, while also chipping in six aces.
After trailing Georgetown 7-3 in game one, the Bulls scored seven unanswered points to take a 10-7 lead. The Hoyas battled back and eventually knotted the score, 14-14, but USF quickly put five points on the board to jump ahead 19-14. The Bulls continued to stay ahead the remainder of the way and got the 30-19 win. USF's key to victory was its blocking, as it posted 7.0 total blocks to the Hoyas 1.0.
Game two was close from the start as neither team had a commanding lead. With the Bulls ahead 7-4, Georgetown scored six straight points to take the lead, 10-7. USF didn't stay down for long, scoring four points to jump ahead by one, 11-10. After both teams traded points for a while and the score was tied three times, the Bulls put three points on the board for the 17-14 advantage. USF managed to stay ahead the rest of the way, fighting off a Hoya comeback for the 30-24 victory.
With the score tied 6-6, USF went on a 9-2 run to take the lead, 15-8. The Bulls maintained their offensive momentum the rest of the way winning the third and final game, 30-20. The closest the Hoyas came to the USF lead was four points, 20-16, but the Bulls answered by scoring three straight for a 23-16 advantage. In the game, USF hit .323, while GU had an average of -.034.
USF will return home for a non-conference matchup against North Florida on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before hitting the road the next weekend for BIG EAST action. The Bulls match against the Ospreys on Tuesday is the team's “Dig for the Cure” match where the team will raise money for breast cancer research.
