BROOKLYN, N.Y. ? The University of South Florida volleyball team struggled on the road against Long Island University, losing 3-0 (30-23, 30-19, 30-24) on Friday night.

USF's record now drops to 8-4, while LIU improves to 8-9.

“We struggled in serve-receive and with first ball contacts,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “This resulted in an unproductive offense and a high-error match for us.”

The Bulls had a tough time getting their offense going from the start and couldn't seem to get it in motion. USF didn't have as many chances to put the ball down off of kills and only tallied 33 to LIU's 54.

While USF opened the contest hitting .226 in the opening set, the Bulls were slowed by errors and committed a total of 18 in the last two games. In the match, the Bulls hit .114 to LIU's .330.

In the third game, the Bulls came out strong and played the Blackbirds close. The set featured eight tie scores and two lead changes. With the score even at 20-20, LIU shifted the momentum into its favor and closed out the game on a 10-4 run for the win.

Marcela Gurgel led the Bulls offense on the night, posting a team-high 13 kills. Freshman Allie Boaz chipped in nine kills and hit .312, leading all USF players.

USF will look to get back on the winning track on Sunday when it travels to Rutgers for a league match-up at 2 p.m.