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2
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3
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USF
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25
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21
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No. 24 Notre Dame
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23
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25
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| Top Performers |
| Player |
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| USF - Boaz |
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| USF - Arbogast |
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| ND - Phillips |
19
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.349
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6
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5
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24.0
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| ND - Kaelin |
13
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.212
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0
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4
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15.0
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The University of South Florida volleyball team fell to No. 24 Notre Dame, 3-1, in the Joyce Center Sunday afternoon to conclude the BIG EAST regular season.
"I liked our matchups offensively against some of their smaller blockers that we had today," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "We just had inconsistency with our passing. I feel we didn't play with our 'A' game emotionally, which you need against a team like Notre Dame."
Junior Allie Boaz and Marcela Gurgel led the Bulls with 15 kills apiece. Boaz set a new career high, which was previously 14. BIG EAST leading blocker Alli Arbogast added four blocks, 10 kills and hit at a .625 attack percentage in four sets. Sophomore Janice Rivera recorded a match-high 20 digs.
"We felt like their middle blockers would leave our rightside hitters open," said Lessinger. "Boaz, who has been our most efficient hitter, has the ability to go up against the closed double block and create shots for herself and get big kills."
The Bulls were outhit .293 to .164 and outblocked 15.0 to 7.5 by the 2009 BIG EAST regular season champions.
In the first set, the Fighting Irish took the early 3-1 lead, but the Bulls fought back to retake the lead on 4-0 run with two Boaz kills and a kill by senior Pamela Luiz. After USF used its first timeout in the set, Boaz and Breen blocked a Notre Dame attack to close the Irish lead, 14-11. Boaz and Breen would block another Irish attack to make it 24-18, but the Bulls fell in the first set, 25-18.
The Bulls fought hard in the second set, overcoming early deficits. Back-to-back kills by Luiz and Boaz and an ace by junior Mariana Thon evened the score at 12-12 and forced a Notre Dame timeout. A kill by Boaz gave the Bulls their fourth lead of the set. Arbogast extended the lead with a kill of her own to make it 16-14.
Kills by Gurgel, one of her set-high six, and Arbogast would keep the Bulls at a two-point lead and force the Fighting Irish to use their second timeout. Notre Dame fought back to retake the lead at 22-21 before USF called its first timeout. Luiz found the open court to get the kill and tie the set at 22. Gurgel and Boaz followed with their own to put it at set point. Gurgel, with her sixth kill of the set, hit between the block to take the second set and tie up the match, 1-1.
In the third set, the Fighting Irish took control, never allowing the Bulls to even the score. Notre Dame took an early 5-0 lead before a kill by Thon put the first point on the board for the Bulls. Back-to-back kills by Boaz and Arbogast cut the Irish lead in half, 6-3. Boaz once again led the Bulls in the set with four kills.
Down by eight, USF went on a 4-0 run, which included kills by redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen and Gurgel before Notre Dame called a timeout. Boaz continued the Bulls' momentum with a kill to only trail, 22-18. At set point, USF called a timeout, where Boaz and Arbogast swung the momentum back the Bulls' way before a Notre Dame kill ended the set, 25-21.
In the first seven points of the fourth set, the Bulls and Fighting Irish went back-and-forth with five ties. A triple block by Gurgel, Arbogast and Boaz evened the score at 3-3. The Bulls went on a 3-0 run to take an early 6-4 lead. Boaz rallied USF with a kill, followed by Gurgel. On a Notre Dame attack, Breen and Boaz posted the Bulls seventh block of the day.
The Bulls could not put together more than a two-point run, though, and fell in the fourth set, 25-21.
USF will begin BIG EAST tournament play on Friday, Nov. 20 with a rematch against Pitt at 10 a.m. The Bulls fell to the Panthers, 3-2, in a tight matchup at The Corral. This is the fourth year in a row that the Bulls earned a spot as one of the top eight teams in the BIG EAST. Check back with GoUSFBulls.com to get all the updates on the tournament.
