University of South Florida
Seton Hall
Bulls Celebrate Huge Win Over Seton Hall in Five
November 14, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
TAMPA - - In a must win situation to stay alive in the hunt for a berth in the BIG EAST Championships, the University of South Florida women's volleyball team won a thriller over Seton Hall in five sets, 23-25, 30-28, 25-21, 22-25, 15-8.
“That was just such a fun match and it was an all-around team win,” said USF head coach Claire Lessinger. “Everyone played their role and we could not have asked for anything more.”
The big win propels USF's overall record to 16-12 while now 6-7 in league play. Seton Hall drops to an even 14-14 and are also 6-7 in the conference.
Junior middle blocker Alli Arbogast had her first career double-double of her career with 13 kills and 12 total blocks, while hitting at an astonishing .706 hitting percentage.
All-American Marcela Gurgel fell just one kill shy of her career-high in kills with 25, a mark set earlier this year against Samford. Gurgel hit at a .300 mark while tallying 12 digs and also staying in the hunt for the nation's most aces per set by racking up six against the Pirates.
Mariana Thon dished out a new career-high in assists with 60 while spreading the ball around to five different attackers who put together at least six kills.
“Mariana did a tremendous job of running our offense and she had so much confidence in all of her offensive weapons,” said Lessinger.
On senior weekend, Nakia Williams came out with a lot of fire and produced a solid performance with 16 kills on .357 hitting. Williams also had three block assists out of USF's 15.0 total blocks on the evening.
Sophomore Allie Boaz had eight kills while also blocking well by matching her career-best with six blocks in the match.
In the first set, the Bulls came out of the gate quickly with two Thon aces to get the match started. The two teams went back and forth throughout the beginning of the set and found themselves tied up at 13. Seton Hall then went on a quick 3-0 run capped off by a service ace to lead 16-13. The Pirates would not give up that lead, although USF brought it within one at 24-23. Seton Hall held on to take the narrow set by two after a kill by Meghan Matusiak.
In all of the Bulls' 104 sets played this season, none went longer than the second set did on this night. The end result was a final count of 30-28 went in favor of the home team, but it did not come easily. The Bulls trailed 13-11 but then went on an impressive 8-0 run led by Gurgel who had three aces during the stretch. Despite leading 19-13, USF had its hands full with a determined Pirates team who fought their way back in it to tie it back up at 21 apiece. From that point on, neither team gained more than a one point advantage until the Bulls closed out the set by the 30-28 score.
USF trailed by a slim 2-1 margin near the beginning of the third, but it was the only time behind in the entire set. The Bulls controlled the play by playing solid defense and blocking well, and held the Pirates to just a .139 team attack percentage during the stanza. After the dust settled, USF found itself on top two sets to one after the 25-21 victory.
Seton Hall bounced back to grab the fourth, 25-22 to set up an extremely crucial fifth and deciding set. USF entered the night with just one win in five tries on the season in five set matches and struggled early down 2-0. Back-to-back kills by Williams and Gurgel knotted up the count at two, and the teams continued to trade points until the set was tied at five. Two Gurgel aces with a Pirate attack error sandwiched in between allowed the Bulls to make a 3-0 run to separate the score at 8-5 at the side of court switch.
USF would not relinquish the lead, and even distanced the margin out further by the completion of it. At match point, Williams got the kill for the 15-8 win and then the massive celebration on the floor ensued.
“They never gave up and played fearless,” said Lessinger. “I have to give my hat off to everyone for such a great team effort.”
The Bulls turn around and face another critical match on Sunday at 2 p.m. as the Villanova Wildcats will be in town. The game will be televised locally on Bright House Sports (formerly Catch 47). If USF wins, it secures its third consecutive trip to the BIG EAST Championships.
“We have to be ready to go through the same fight again on Sunday, but I am really optimistic about this team.”
