USF 3, Marquette 2 | Box Score PDF | Live Chat Transcript   1 2 3 4 5 F USF 21 25 25 14 15 3 Marquette 25 15 14 25 13 2  Top Performers  Player Kills Hitting Pct. Blocks Digs Points USF - Gurgel 16 .154 3 13 19.5 USF - Luiz 14 .219 1 9 15.0 USF -Boaz 13 .400 5 1 15.5 MU - Beyer 20 .277 0 6 22.0 USF Volleyball Central • Volleyball Main Page | Ticket Information | BullsVision • 2009 Interactive Guide | 2009 Weekly Releases • USF Season Statistics | BIG EAST Conference | NCAA

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - It took the University of South Florida volleyball team five sets to defeat the Marquette Golden Eagles, as the Bulls improved to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST.

This was the first time that the Bulls have won the fifth set, as USF sported an 0-3 record in fifth sets prior to today's match. USF fell in the first and fourth sets, 25-21, 25-14, but won the second, third and fifth sets, 25-15, 25-14 and 15-13.

Three Bulls finished with double-digit kills. The Bulls finished with 61 as a team, the most this season. Seniors Marcela Gurgel and Pamela Luiz finished with 16 and 14, respectively, while junior Allie Boaz finished with 13.

Defensively, the Bulls also finished with 50 digs and 11 team blocks. Boaz led all with five blocks, while Gurgel stuffed two single blocks.

Both teams battled in the first set, recording six lead changes and 13 ties during the set.

The Golden Eagles (13-9 overall, 3-5 BIG EAST) took an early 2-0 lead before Boaz smashed down a kill to record the Bulls first point of the match. Marquette took a 6-3 lead before a Gurgel kill and ace along with a Marquette attack error evened the score at 6-6. The set continued to go back and forth, with no team ahead by more than one point. After the score was tied, 18-18, Marquette took at two-point lead before USF called a timeout. USF rallied, but the Bulls could not retain the lead before going down, 1-0.

The Bulls dominated in the second set, never allowing Marquette to take the lead. Luiz downed six balls to hit .500 in the set. Defense was the name of the game as Gurgel racked up six of the Bulls 14 digs in the set. Within the first seven points, Janice Rivera and Brittany Castelamare each found the empty court on serve to record an ace to build a 7-2 lead. The Bulls went on a 5-0 run with four kills by four different players to take the 22-13 lead. Two kills by Luiz and a kill by Boaz allowed the Bulls to even the match at 1-1. The Golden Eagles were held to a .156 hitting percentage while USF dominated with a .448 mark.

USF continued its offensive dominance, hitting .565 in the third set to take the 2-1 lead. Gurgel led all hitters in the set with five kills, while Boaz was perfect at the net, downing all four balls set to her. After a service error by the Bulls to lead off the set, USF went on a 6-0 run before Marquette called a timeout to regroup. The Golden Eagles inched closer to the Bulls' lead with five straight points before USF called a timeout. The Bulls continued to find the empty court striking 16 kills to Marquette's five.

USF struggled in the fourth set to close out the match, hitting -.040. Senior Alli Arbogast and Boaz both had three kills apiece of the Bulls' eight total in the set. The Bulls took the early 3-0 lead on three Marquette errors. The Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run mostly on Bull errors. Head coach Claire Lessinger called a timeout to allow the team to regroup, but Marquette pulled ahead even farther to go ahead, 13-4. Boaz earned a kill off the Marquette block to end the Golden Eagle run. Marquette served up an ace to the back corner to even the match score at 2-2.

The Bulls entered the fifth set for the fourth time this year after dropping the previous three games that went to five. Junior Mariana Thon started things off with an serve that Marquette could not handle. Gurgel stuffed a Golden Eagle attack on the right side to give the Bulls a 4-1 lead. Marquette went on a 3-0 run to even the score. 8-8. After an attack error by the Bulls, Lessinger called a timeout. USF responded on a Luiz kill to even the score at 9-9. After back-to-back kills by Marquette and the 12-10 lead, Lessinger called her final timeout of the game. Coming out of the timeout, a key substitution by Lessinger allowed Thon to attack a pass that Marquette was not ready for to cut the lead to one. Boaz slammed down another kill to even the score at 12 to force Marquette to call a timeout. The Golden Eagles evened the score at 13 on a kill, but the Bulls prevailed on a kill by Boaz to win the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.

The Bulls continue BIG EAST play on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. at The Corral against Georgetown.