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2
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3
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USF
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25
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25
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Villanova
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17
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21
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| Top Performers |
| Player |
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| USF - Gurgel |
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| USF - Luiz |
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USF - Boaz
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VU - Beyer
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VILLANOVA, Pa. - The University of South Florida volleyball team continued to dominate on the court as they swept Villanova in three sets to win their fifth straight match.
"What we saw tonight was a team victory that was very confident and on a mission," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "What they put on the floor was built by big points and a big win for us."
The Bulls (15-6 overall, 7-3 BIG EAST) defeated the Wildcats, 25-22, 25-17 and 25-21 while hitting .213 and holding Villanova to .096 hitting percentage.
Senior Marcela Gurgel, reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, continued her dominance on the court leading all hitters with 14 kills and digging 16 balls.
Senior Brittany Castelamare moved into the top-10 on the all time career assist list recording 21 for the match, passing Maria Hogberg in 10th place with 1,501.
Senior Jarka Havlickova and redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen each had four blocks in the match, with USF out blocking Villanova, 8.0 to 2.0.
"I just have been working my butt off at practice," said Castelamare. "I try my best to give my hitters the best opportunity to get a kill."
Every Bull on the court recorded at least one dig and all hitters had three or more kills.USF outhit and outdug Villanova, 46-33 and 64-57, respectively.
"We had all players scrapping for balls, running all over the place and making big plays," said Lessinger.
The Bulls quickly jumped to at 5-1 lead on the Wildcats on two kills by Gurgel and a service ace by Pamela Luiz. With the set tied at 7-7, a kill by Arbogast triggered the Bulls to score three straight points.
Back-to-back kills by Havlickova and Luiz forced Villanova to call a timeout. The Wildcats then used their second timeout after a Luiz ace after the Bulls took a three point lead, 19-16.
A Villanova ace put the Wildcats within one at 23-22, but a kill by Luiz and an attack error by Villanova closed out the first set.
Luiz continued her serving dominance in the second set, recording her third of the game to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. Down, 5-4, USF made five straight kills, one each from Gurgel and Havlickova, then Arbogast followed with three-straight kills, taking the 9-5 lead and forcing Villanova to use a timeout early in the set. The Bulls continued to force Villanova to make errors, 13 attack and one service, to easily take the second set 25-17.
The intensity maintained going into the third set, smacking two kills to start the set by Luiz and Breen. With a 11-8 lead, the Bulls continued to put on a beating with a kill by Arbogast and two by Luiz forcing Villanova to call a timeout. The break did not affect Luiz, as she slammed a kill to take the four point lead.
The Wildcats attempted a comeback tying the score at 15-15 but the Bulls refocused and never allowed Villanova to tie the score again.
With the score 20-19, Castelamare set Arbogast a ball that she fired straight down and quieted the Villanova fans. Boaz spiked a ball that the defense shanked to close out the set and win the match.
The Bulls return to The Corral for their last home BIG EAST series as they face Louisville Friday at 7 p.m. and Cincinnati on Sunday at 2 p.m.
