TAMPA, Fla. ? The University of South Florida volleyball team came up with its third highest dig total in a three-game match and swept North Florida, 3-0 (30-18, 30-14, 30-24), on Tuesday night in the “Dig for the Cure” match.
In the contest the Bulls tallied 45 digs, including 19 in game one. USF, who led the Ospreys in digs, will release the amount raised once the final figures are in, and all proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Florida Suncoast Breast Cancer Foundation.
“I thought based on our offensive production that the fact that we had 45 digs was impressive, especially since we had 19 in the first game,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “Stephanie Augustavo set the standard, which you always want your libero to do, by registering 16 digs in the entire match. But I could definitely see some fire out there to keep that ball alive and I was definitely happy with the production we got out there for the campaign.”
Augustavo, a junior, led all players with 16 digs and Marcela Gurgel was second with nine. In addition, 10 of 11 USF players that saw action in the match recorded a dig.
On the offensive side, the Bulls (14-6) had four starters hit .500 or better. Freshman Allie Boaz led all with a .571 percentage, netting eight kills off of 14 attacks with no errors. Gurgel, who led the team with 13 kills, tied with Alli Arbogast and Mariana Thon with a .500 hitting percentage.
It was an overall team effort on the court for USF, who came out strong from the start and played solid all-around. The Bulls had a better offensive outing, hitting .382 to UNF's .068, and USF tallied six more blocks than the Ospreys (4-21), 8.0-2.0.
The Bulls offense got off to a good start in the first game and continued to surge in the rest of the games. USF had an 18-point lead at one point in the first set and ended up winning by 12, 30-18.
Despite a close start to game two that featured four tie scores, the Bulls broke away and took a lead they would never relinquish. USF went on to win game two, 30-14, and hit a match-high .515 to UNF's .118.
In the third game the Bulls took the early lead and cruised to the victory, 30-24. USF hit .379 and tallied 15 kills, while the Ospreys hit .237 and netted 14 kills. The real difference in the third set was USF's defensive effort, as it tallied 15 digs to the Osprey's eight.
The Bulls will open their two-week long road trip this weekend when they travel to Villanova on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Seton Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m.
