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2
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3
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No. 9 Minnesota
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25
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25
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USF
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18
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10
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| Top Performers |
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| USF - Arbogast |
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| Minn - Dieter |
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Minn - Wilson
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Minn - Love
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TAMPA - The University of South Florida volleyball team suffered its second-straight loss in as many days to a top-10 opponent, as the Bulls fell to No. 9 Minnesota, 3-0, Saturday evening in the nightcap of the second day of the Tampa Twice Tournament at the Sun Dome.
Minnesota used scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-10 to move to 7-2 on the season, hitting .453 on the night while limiting the Bulls to a .066 attack percentage. The Gophers also had a large advantage in blocks, 15-3, and committed only three attack errors on the night. After falling to No. 4 Florida Friday night, the Bulls now stand at 5-2 on the young season.
"We've got to understand how much we've learned from this experience and how much these teams exploited our weaknesses," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "We learned so much this weekend on what we need to be working on to improve."
Senior Marcela Gurgel led the team with eight kills, while senior Alli Arbogast and junior Allie Boaz added six apiece. Junior Mariana Thon handed out 17 assists, while sophomore transfer Janice Rivera had a team-high 13 digs in front of a crowd of 2,065.
Minnesota's Brook Dieter led all players with 13 kills, while Christine Tan had a match-high 18 digs.
USF took an early lead to begin the match, building a 5-3 lead on a block by senior Jarka Havlickova and redshirt freshman Caitlyn Breen. The teams went back and forth after that, with a kill by Gurgel tying the set up at 10-10. From there, the Gophers would take control, scoring nine-straight points to put the set out of reach, 19-10. Minnesota would go on to win the set, 25-12.
The Bulls stayed right with the Gophers to start the second set, though, as kills by Arbogast and Gurgel tied it up at 8-all. Minnesota put together a 5-0 run to take the lead for good from there. Arbogast stopped the Gopher momentum with a kill to make it 13-9, but Minnesota continued to pour it on.
After the Gophers gained a 21-13 lead, the Bulls subbed in freshman Maija Strazdina, the highly-touted outside hitter from Latvia. Two plays after entering her first collegiate match, Strazdina knocked down her first ever kill to make it 22-14. She would later add a second one in the set at 24-18, before the Gophers finished out the set the next serve.
USF had little answer for the Gopher attack in the third set. Minnesota jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead before senior Pamela Luiz, an offseason transfer from Minnesota, threw down a kill to get USF on the board. Sophomore Kelsey Palmer posted a kill and followed it up with the first service ace of her young career to make it 9-3, before Minnesota slowly pushed the lead into double digits, eventually taking the set, 25-10.
"I'm actually pretty excited and fired up to get in the gym on Monday and now really see the areas in which we've got to get better to perform at this level," said Lessinger. "We saw glimpses of it this weekend, and that's something we need to capitalize on."
In the first game of the day, No. 3 Washington took care of No. 4 Florida, 3-0, as the Huskies went undefeated and failed to lose a set in the tournament after dispatching the Gophers, 3-0, Friday.
Washington's Airial Salvo and Jill Collymore, Florida's Kristy Jaeckel and Megan Wilson of Minnesota were named to the Tampa Twice All-Tournament Team.
"What a great tournament and the opportunity to host these teams here and the fan support, just everything" said Lessinger. "I think it has helped our program gain a little notoriety as well. So we're going to work our tails off to get back in producing the volleyball we know we are capable of."
USF will return to action Tuesday on the road, as the Bulls head east on I-4 for a showdown with UCF at 7 p.m.
