University of South Florida
Villanova
Bulls Battle Back For Key Victory
October 27, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
VILLANOVA, Pa. ? The University of South Florida volleyball team made its second biggest comeback of the season, battling back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Villanova, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Jake Nevin Field House.
The victory was USF's first after losing consecutive games and was its second five-game win of the season. The win was also big for the Bulls because they sat in a tie for fifth place before the match and Villanova was ahead of them, tied with Pittsburgh for third place.
“Going into game five, our game plan was to be offensively productive,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “They were the toughest team we faced all year in regards to their offense and we knew that we had to go point for point. It also came down to our senior (Kristina Fabris) against their senior (Alona Cherkez), and I was really proud how Kristina stepped up in crunch time.
“Winning in five games was a confidence builder for us because Villanova has been very successful this year in game five situations. I thought we showed patience and determination. We need to build off this one.”
USF's key to victory was its offense down the stretch. After struggling in the second and third games, the Bulls (15-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) got their scoring into motion and went on to hit .385 in game four and .316 in game five.
Two USF players tallied double-doubles on the day. Fabris led all players with 24 kills and added 14 digs, while hitting a team high .370, and Marcela Gurgel had a 12-kill, 14-dig match. Rounding out the offensive leaders was Nakia Williams with 10 kills in the contest.
Defensively, Alli Arbogast led the team at the net with 8.0 total blocks, while Gurgel added 6.0.
After the Bulls opened up game one with a 7-2 lead, the Wildcats (14-10, 6-4 BIG EAST) battled back and tied the score then took the lead, 16-12. Villanova stayed ahead most of the way until USF sparked a comeback, going on a 9-2 run to take the 28-25 lead. After Villanova scored a point to cut the lead down to two, 28-26, the Bulls scored the two points for the game-one victory, 30-26.
Game two was close from the start. After the Wildcats took the early lead, 6-3, the Bulls knotted the score, 8-8. USF could not jump ahead and Villanova built its lead back to three points, 11-8. The Bulls trailed most of the way until they put together another late comeback to tie the score. With VU ahead 21-17, USF scored four unanswered points, 21-21. Villanova didn't let the stalemate last for long, going on a 6-2 run for the lead, 27-23. USF could not answer back and the Wildcats got the 30-27 win.
The third set opened up like the previous one, with Villanova ahead and the Bulls not trailing by much. After USF came within one point of the lead, 16-15, the Wildcats got their offense going and jumped in front, 23-15. The Bulls could not counter and lost game three, 30-19.
Needing to win game four to stay in the match, the Bulls put together their best offensive game of the day and won the set, 30-26. USF trailed early on, but never let Villanova take a large lead. With the Wildcats leading, 19-18, the Bulls put three points on the board for the 21-19 lead. After VU scored two points to knot the score, USF answered by adding three to its total for a 25-22 advantage. The Bulls continued to score while the Wildcats struggled and went on to win. In the game, USF hit a match-best .385 while Villanova was held to .220.
In the fifth and final game, Villanova opened with the early lead, 8-4. USF quickly got the momentum back in its favor and used an 8-2 run to jump ahead 12-10. The Wildcats and could not find an answer for the Bulls, who went on to win game five 15-12 for the match victory.
The Bulls will look to extend their three-game winning streak when they face Seton Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m.
