TAMPA - Tied for fourth place in the BIG EAST entering the day, the University of South Florida volleyball team dispatched its Rowdy Crowd Night opponent, Louisville, 3-0, Friday night in front of a packed house at The Corral.
It didn't take long for the Bulls to take off, as USF outplayed the Cardinals in the first set, 25-14. The Bulls rallied in the second set to pull out the win, 25-20, then held off a late rally by Louisville for the third set win, 25-21.
With the win, the Bulls' first over Louisville since 2002, USF (16-6 overall, 8-3 BIG EAST) took sole possession of fourth place in the league. The Cardinals fell to 14-10 overall and 7-4 in BIG EAST play.
Senior Marcela Gurgel had one of her best matches of the year, posting 18 kills on a .385 attack percentage, while Allie Boaz knocked down 10 kills and added five blocks. Freshman transfer Janice Rivera posted a match-high 16 kills, while junior Mariana Thon handed out a match-best 30 assists. Senior Pamela Luiz added eight kills and seven digs.
Freshman Lola Arslanbekova knocked down 16 kills, while Gosia Lech had 12 digs to lead the Cards. USF outhit Louisville, .320 - .154, and led at the net, posting 9.5 blocks to 5.0 for the Cardinals.
USF wasted little time building a big lead, going up, 5-0, to start play, before Louisville won five of the next seven serves to cut it to two at 7-5. Neither team gained an advantage as play continued, that is until USF scored four straight points and six within a span of seven serves, including three kills by Boaz, to get the lead up to seven at 17-10.
After trading points, USF won four straight for a 23-13 lead, and a kill by senior Jarka Havlickova and a block by Boaz and redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen, one of her five on the night, ended the set, 25-14. Gurgel and Boaz led the way with five kills each in the first stanza.
The Bulls were unable to break away from the Cardinals in the second set, as Louisville went up by three at 9-6. The Bulls won the next three points to tie it up, but again the teams would go back and forth until USF finally gained more than a one-point lead at 21-17.
USF called a timeout when the lead shrank to 22-20, but a kill by Boaz on the very next play was followed by a Louisville timeout. An attack error on the Cards and a service ace by senior Brittany Castelamare quickly ended Set 2, 25-20, with Gurgel posting four kills to lead the Bulls.
USF built up a 7-4 lead on a kill by Gurgel to begin the third set, one of her nine in the set, but Louisville quickly responded to tie it up at 7-7. The Bulls grabbed the lead back, then rattled off five straight points, sandwiched around two Louisville timeouts, including back-to-back-to-back blocks by Boaz and senior Alli Arbogast for a 17-11 lead.
Louisville would not go down quietly, as the Cards, won six of seven points to cut the lead to two at 18-16. Gurgel's kill stopped the bleeding temporarily, but the Bulls again called a timeout after seeing their lead fall to one at 20-19. A block and a kill by the Cardinals finally tied it up at 21-21, but two straight Louisville attack errors, a block by Boaz and Breen and then a kill by Gurgel ended play, 25-21.
USF will host second-place Cincinnati Sunday at 2 p.m. on Senior Day. The Bearcats entered the weekend winners of seven straight, holding a 19-8 overall record and a 9-1 mark in league play.
