TAMPA - Despite record-setting performances from several players, the University of South Florida volleyball team was unable to get past UConn, as the Huskies rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win, 3-2, Friday night at The Corral.

In front of a capacity crowd, USF quickly went up, 2-0, as head coach Claire Lessinger's squad won the first set, 25-21, before a more dominating performance in the second, 25-16.

USF (9-4, 2-1 BIG EAST) could not hold the momentum, though, as UConn (9-9, 2-1 BIG EAST) earned a pair of 25-21 wins in the third and fourth sets. The Bulls then fell behind early in the fifth but rallied to push the Huskies to the edge before falling just short, 15-13.

Senior Alli Arbogast, ranked ninth in the nation in blocks per set, improved her standing in the nation with a career-high 16 blocks, besting her previous best of 12, and added six kills. Sophomore transfer Janice Rivera easily eclipsed her career high in digs as well, posting a match-best 34, 11 more than her previous best.

Senior Marcela Gurgel led all players with 18 kills, while senior transfer Pamela Luiz had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Junior Mariana Thon added 24 assists, while senior Brittany Castelamare had 19.

Rebecca Murray led the Huskies with 14 kills, while Samantha Arriaran handed out 44 assists.  Jessica Isaac was one of four Huskies with double-digit digs with 23.

USF grabbed the first two points of the match, but UConn would take the lead back with three-straight points. After Gurgel and Arbogast blocked a Husky attack to make it 8-6. UConn would turn right back around and go up, 11-9, on a kill by Mattison Quayle. The teams traded points over the next eight serves, but USF would build a two-point lead on a Luiz service ace.

UConn eventually went up, 20-19, but a rotation error on the Huskies ended their lead. With the score then tied up, 21-21, the Bulls would take the next four points, capped off by a UConn attack error by Cayla Broadwater, one of seven errors on the set by UConn. Gurgel had seven kills, while Rivera had an unheard of 13 digs in the set.

Gurgel and Arbogast teamed up to block a Husky attack for a 7-4 lead in the second set, but UConn would tied it up at 7-all and then again at 11-11. From there, though, the Bulls outplayed the Huskies, building a 17-12 lead on a kill by Arbogast.

Arbogast and Havlickova blocked back-to-back attacks, two of Arbogast's five blocks in the set, as USF went on a 7-0 run to put the match out of reach, 24-13. Arbogast's kill ended the set at 25-16, as the Huskies hit -.118 for the set.

Luiz laid down a kill for the early 5-3 lead in the third set, which eventually stretched to four at 14-10 on a Quayle attack error. After UConn called a timeout, the Huskies scored six of the next eight points to tie it at 16-16, forcing a USF timeout. A bad serve up the Bulls up, 20-19, but the Huskies outscored USF 6-1 over the rest of the set for the 25-21 win, keeping their hopes alive. UConn posted 26 digs in the set to keep the USF attack at bay.

Like the third set, the Bulls built a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, but five straight points gave the Huskies an 8-5 lead. The Bulls kept it close, as Luiz and Arbogast blocked a Husky attack to tie it up at 15-all. USF called a timeout after falling behind by two at 18-16, but a kill by redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen and a Husky attack error tied it back up at 20-20. The Huskies, though, again played tough down the stretch, outscoring the Bulls 5-1 for the 25-21 win.

The Huskies were on target to open the fifth, building a 6-1 lead before Lessinger called a timeout. USF again called a timeout after falling behind, 10-4, but the Bulls would not go quietly into the night. Arbogast slammed down a kill to cap a 4-0 run to get the Bulls within one at 10-8. Gurgel's kill got the Bulls to within one at 12-11, but after Gurgel and Boaz put together back-to-back kills to make it 14-13, a bad service error by USF ended the match.

USF returns to action Sunday at 1 p.m. against St. John's at home. Bright House Sports Network will broadcast the match live.