Milwaukee, Wis. ? Despite a brilliant performance from USF's lone senior Kristina Fabris, the #6 USF Bulls (19-9, 9-7 BIG EAST) fell 3-1 to the #2 seed (#20) St. John's Red Storm in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament semifinals 3-1 (29-31, 30-17, 30-27, 30-21) at the Al McGuire Center on Saturday.

The Red Storm out hit the Bulls .363 to .240, led by the middle blocking tandem of BIG EAST Player of the Year Hui Ping Huang and First Team All-BIG EAST team member Latoya Blunt. The outstanding duo combined for 39 kills against just eight errors on 70 attacks for a .443 hitting percentage. Though the Bulls were often able to compete on the outside, it was St. John's ability to attack at the net that made the difference.

Game one saw the Bulls keep the momentum going from their sweep of Villanova the night before. Led by the tandem of Fabris and outside hitter Marcela Gurgel, who combined for 15 kills on 20 attacks with just two errors, USF hit a monstrous .471 in the frame. It was a battle of spectacular side outs, with neither team able to mount more than a three point advantage from the first serve to the last. A brilliantly played game ended rather sloppily however, as with both sides tied at 27, six straight errors by both teams determined the winner. Two Nakia Williams miscues were negated by four different St. John's errors, including the final three points to close the game.

Game two saw the Red Storm right the ship, and come out firing on all cylinders. A dominant team effort saw St. John's never allow the outcome to be in doubt, hitting .615 for the game. The blocking tandem of Huang and Blunt were 9 of 12 on kills without an attacking error. Outside hitter Dana DeMayo also chipped in four kills on eight attacks. Up 6-4 early, St. John's rattled off six straight points on the serve of Casie Brooks, followed by a side out and three more with Huang serving to take a hefty 16-5 advantage. USF was again buoyed by Fabris, who was six of eight attacking without an error, leaving her standing with a hefty .765 hitting percentage heading to the intermission.

After the break the third game was much more of a contest, with both teams trading side outs early. The Bulls used four serves from Marcela Gurgel, one of them an ace, to pull ahead 20-18. But the Bulls would only manage one more point while serving, whereas the Red Storm plied together five via four kills and a USF error. The middle blocking of St. John's would again prove to be the difference in a tight game, with Huang notching seven kills to lead all players.

The final game allowed Blunt to showcase her skills, racking up eight kills on ten attacks without an error to dominate the frame. St. John's as a team hit .422 for the game, despite seven digs from libero Stephanie Augustavo. They also managed 24 kills of their 30 points scored, and a 77% sideout percentage.

The Bulls will take on Florida A&M this Wednesday at 12 p.m. in The Corral. Tickets are available for the final match of the season by calling 1-800-GoBulls.