| |
|
|
 |
| Top Performers |
| Player |
|
|
|
|
|
| USF - Gurgel |
|
|
|
|
|
| USF - Boaz |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pitt - Dooley
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USF - Harper
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TAMPA - Despite an early lead and a late rally, the University of South Florida volleyball team was unable to hold off Pitt, falling, 3-2, to the Panthers Sunday afternoon at The Corral.
The Bulls (10-5 overall, 3-2 BIG EAST) took the first set, 25-21, and then rallied midway through the second set after being down by four before Pitt (13-7 overall, 5-1 BIG EAST) pulled out the win, 25-22.
The Panthers found magic late in the third set, taking the last five points for the 25-20 win. The Bulls would not back down, though, as they put together a rally of their own to win the fourth, 25-22. Pitt, however, took control in the fifth set, pulling away from the Bulls late for the 15-9 win.
"We backed ourselves into a corner and became very predictable today," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "Without even offensive production, we can't beat teams like Pitt. We have a lot to work on, mostly the little things."
Senior Marcela Gurgel posted a double-double, leading all players with 21 kills and adding 13 digs and three blocks. Senior Janice Rivera was one of four players with double-digit digs, contributing a team-high 22 digs. Junior Mariana Thon handed out 31 assists with 12 digs and senior transfer Pamela Luiz totaled 15 digs, nine kills and six blocks.
Meagan Dooley was one of four Pitt players with 10 or more kills with her team-leading 18. Michelle Rossi added 22 digs, while Allyson Hodnik had a match-high 46 assists. USF played well defensively, limiting the Panthers to a .140 attack percentage, but the Bulls committed 33 attack errors and hit only .108 for the match.
It took 18 serves into the first set before either team could take a lead of more than one, as back-to-back attack errors by Pitt's Amy Town put the Bulls up, 10-8. After Luiz and redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen blocked an attack for a 13-11 lead, Pitt called a timeout to regroup, but Breen would have a hand in two straight blocks for USF as the lead got to six at 18-12.
The Panthers called another timeout, which was followed by one from USF after the Panthers scored three straight to get within three at 18-15. Pitt would get to within one at 19-18 after scoring three straight again, but junior Allie Boaz and Gurgel laid down back-to-back kills for the first set win, 25-21.
Gurgel added one of her six kills in the second set for an early 8-6 lead, but Pitt would score five of the next six points and nine of the next 12 to go up by four, 15-11. Lessinger called a timeout after the Bulls found themselves in another four-point deficit, 17-13, and eventually tied the score back four different times, the last on a kill by Luiz at 21-21. Pitt responded, as a Dooley service ace gave the Panthers the 25-22 win.
The Bulls fell behind early in the third set but grabbed the lead back at 8-7 on a Pitt attack error. Pitt went up by three at 12-9 with a block at the net, but USF tied it up at 13-13 on a kill by Boaz, one of her nine on the day.
The teams continued score points in bunches, as Pitt took five of the next six for an 18-14 lead before the Bulls came right back and scored four of the next five to cut the lead to one at 19-18. After a Pitt timeout there, Gurgel tied it up at 20-all on a kill, the Panthers scored the last five points of the set for the 25-20 win.
"You've got to be able to hit, and you have to be able to handle that kind of pressure," said Lessinger. "We are too good to put ourselves in that kind of situation."
USF gained the first point of the fourth set when the Panthers served out of rotation, while Boaz knocked home three kills within a four-serve span as USF eventually went up, 6-2. Two straight attack errors by the Bulls, though, got Pitt to within one at 9-8. The Panthers eventually tied it up at 12-12 and then took the lead at 16-15.
USF called a timeout after the next play and slowly got back into the match as kills by Gurgel led to a 20-19 lead, with Pitt calling a timeout at that point. A kill and a block by Pitt made it 21-20 Panthers, but Thon's second kill of the set and back-to-back kills by Boaz helped close it out, 25-22.
With the score tied, 4-4, in the fifth set, Pitt scored two straight points before senior Alli Arbogast and Thon combined for a block to tie it back up at 6-all, the first block of the season for Thon. The Panthers took control from there, scoring five straight points to put the match out of reach. The Bulls stayed alive on a Pitt attack error and a kill by Gurgel to make it 14-9, but a kill by Pitt's Amy Town ended the match, 15-9.
USF goes back on the road next weekend, as the team travels to Syracuse for a 7 p.m. match Friday followed by a 2 p.m. contest at Marquette Sunday.
