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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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DePaul
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14
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16
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| Top Performers |
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| USF - Havlickova |
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| USF - Boaz |
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USF - Luiz
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USF - Arbogast
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CHICAGO, Ill. -The University of South Florida volleyball team swept the DePaul Blue Demons, 3-0, to record its program-best ninth BIG EAST Conference win. USF has never won nine conference games since joining the BIG EAST and now owns a 17-7 overall record and 9-4 league mark
"I thought we were focused and I'm proud of how we took care of business today," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "We saw that our right side was open so we wanted to give them the ball, and both Allie and Jarka recorded double-digit kills with a high hitting efficiency. I also have to give credit to our setters for following the gameplan and feeding them the ball."
Senior Jarka Havlickova and junior Allie Boaz each recorded 10 kills and hit over .500 with a .562 and .529, respectively. USF outhit DePaul, .433 to .150, winning in three sets, 25-19, 25-14 and 25-16. Senior Pamela Luiz blasted three aces, all in the third set, and senior Marcela Gurgel had a team-best 12 digs. The Bulls out blocked the Blue Demons, 10.0 to 2.0 to improve its road BIG EAST ledger to 5-1.
"I have to give credit to our setters," said Boaz."They did a great job in feeding us good balls and spreading the wealth to all of the hitters, making it difficult to block."
In the first set, the Bulls outhit the Blue Demons .367 to .121. With the Bulls leading 6-5, Boaz and Arbogast blocked a Blue Demon attack to take a two point lead. The block assist for Arbogast moved her into sole possession of second place on USF's all-time career block assist list with 361.
The Blue Demons (6-22 overall, 0-13 BIG EAST) led by two points early, 12-10, before a kill by Boaz and a solo block by Gurgel evened the game at 12.
With the set at 20-19, the Bulls went on a 5-0 run to win the opening set, 25-19. Setter Mariana Thon closed out the set with an ace to take the 1-0 lead.
USF dominated the second set overpowering DePaul, 25-14, hitting .500 with 18 kills. Boaz continued to led at the net with five kills. With DePaul on a 3-0 run and closing the Bulls lead to 11-8, Boaz slammed down back-to-back kills to expand the lead.
An attack error by DePaul gave USF their first double-digit lead at 21-11. Kills by Havlickova, Boaz and Breen was part of a 5-0 run by the Bulls to close out the set and take the commanding 2-0 lead.
The Bulls continued to dominate in the third set, easily taking the 25-16 victory. Pamela Luiz served two aces in the first five points, along with Breen's two kills, to take a 5-1 lead and force a DePaul timeout. Luiz came out of the timeout and served her third ace of the set, which tied a career record.
A kill by Breen doubled the Bulls lead, 16-8, and forced DePaul to use its second and final timeout. The Blue Demons continued to make unforced errors that allowed USF to go on a 6-0 run. Sophomore Kelsey Palmer, recorded back-to-back blocks with Havlickova in the middle of the run. With her second double-digit kill of the year, Havlickova, found the empty court to get her 10th kill and close out the match.
"This year we seemed to be putting everything together," said Havlickova. "Our team has set goals and we are executing them. We are playing as a team right now."
USF will conclude BIG EAST play against No. 24 Notre Dame Sunday at 2 p.m. The Fighting Irish entered the weekend undefeated in conference play, holding a 18-4 overall record and a 12-0 mark in league play.
