CHICAGO, Il. ? By getting multiple players involved offensively, USF Volleyball took another step towards an improved seed in the BIG EAST Conference tournament with a 3-0 sweep over the DePaul Blue Demons (30-16, 35-33, 30-26) at McGrath Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Registering their second best hitting percentage against a conference opponent this season with a .352 mark, the Bulls (16-7, 7-4 BIG EAST) used a balanced attack in the victory with three players registering double-digit kills. Sophomore Marcela Gurgel was the leader from the outside hitter position, with 15 balls terminated against only 3 errors. Senior Kristina Fabris and Junior Nakia Williams followed with 12 and 11 respectively, and the Sudbury, Ontario native Fabris also chipped in 13 digs for the Bulls lone double-double of the match.
“It was a goal of ours to balance our attack and get all of our weapons involved,” said head coach Claire Lessinger, whose team matched last season's BIG EAST win total with the victory. “I also thought both setters (Mariana Thon and Brittany Castelamare) did a good job of distributing the ball across the net. DePaul did a good job of coming into each game with a different game plan. I'm pleased to get out of here in three.”
USF jumped out early in Game One to a 10-3 advantage, and never looked back to pick up the opening frame 30-16. A balanced, efficient attack from the Bulls saw six players register a kill, while also posting an impressive .577 hitting percentage, and zero hitting errors for any Bull. Defensively USF was stalwart as well, holding DePaul (6-19, 1-10 BIG EAST) to just .024, and registering five blocks as a team.
Game Two saw a better attack from the Blue Demons, but the green and gold were able to respond, needing a little extra time to pick up the 35-33 win. It was back and forth early, with a total of 17 tie scores posted even with both teams making a run of four and five points each. Down 30-29 with DePaul serving for the match, Fabris put away the first of three straight kills the Bulls would ride to victory. The Bulls put up another impressive hitting percentage, with a .320 pace in the game, but DePaul responded with a .232 statistic, as well as their first three team blocks of the match.
Following the intermission the Bulls found offense both inside and outside, with middle blockers Alli Arbogast and Nakia Williams picking up three kills each without an error in Game Three, and Fabris and Gurgel putting a total 10 balls on DePaul's hardwood to start the celebration.
The Bulls will look to keep the road trip a happy one when they face Notre Dame on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Notes from the Bulls:
Tonight's Top Ten List: Junior libero Stephanie Augustavo finished the match with 18 digs, giving her 955 for her career, and moving her into 9th place on USF's all-time list.
Bittersweet Victory: Former Bull Amy Kleyweg, a part of two NCAA Tournament teams for USF as a player from 1993-95, now serves as the head coach of the Blue Demons. She is in her second season in Chicago.
Sophomore Stat Leaders: Marcela Gurgel and Alli Arbogast are also receiving national statistical recognition as well. Gurgel, a native of Fortaleza, Brazil, sits 8th nationally in aces per game, using her powerful jump serve to chalk up 0.68 unreturned serves per game. She added another ace against the Blue Demons in Game Two. Her middle blocker counterpart Arbogast, from St. Louis, Missouri, added four total blocks to give her 134 for the season, adding to the total that saw her 13th in the nation heading into today's play.
Homecoming Weekend in Tampa... and in Chicago: Also in attendance today at McGrath Arena was Bulls legend Erica Berggren. She saw Arbogast etch her name in the media guide next to her, moving into a tie for 6th in block assists for a season with Berggren's 1996 campaign. The record of 135 is also held by Berggren, set during her 1995 season. Berggren still stands as the Bulls only NCAA statistical champion for a season, winning the hitting percentage title by recording a .433 clip in 1994.
