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Scoreboard
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Team
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Set 1
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Set 2
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Set 3
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Set 4
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Set 5
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Final
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| DePaul |
25 |
25 |
16 |
19 |
-- |
1 |
| USF |
11 |
27 |
25 |
25 |
-- |
3 |
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TAMPA - After a slow start, the University of South Florida volleyball team rallied to win the final three sets to knock off DePaul 3-1 on Sunday.
The Bulls were dominated by the Blue Demons in the opening frame, dropping the set 25-11, but were able to rebound to take the next three and improve to 3-1 in BIG EAST play.
USF struggled to get their offense going, but got a spark from J'beria Davis after the first set, who came in and powered the tem to the win. Davis led all players with 14 kills, while hitting .393 from her outside hitter position, while adding a pair of digs, a block assist and a solo block in the win.
Head coach Claire Lessinger mixed up the normal roation a little bit against DePaul, giving Christine Knoechel her first start of the season, and Knoechel did not disappoint, as the senior collected 14 digs and a pair of aces in the match.
Knoechel along with Janice Rivera were strong on the backline for the Bulls in the effort, as Rivera added 25 digs to Knoechel's 14, to help solidify the Bulls defensive efforts.
Senior Mariana Thon set the pace for the USF offense in the win, collecting 49 assists, and picking up four aces against DePaul.
Davis was one of four Bulls to record double-digit kills on Sunday, along with Erika DeVaughn who collected 12 and Allie Boaz and Andrea Rodriguez Gomez, who each had 11 apiece.
USF improved their hitting percentage in each of the four sets, struggling at first with a .030 percentage as a team in set one, before improving to .098, .281 and .452 in sets two, three and four respectively, finishing at .197 as a team for the match.
DePaul out-blocked the Bulls 8.0 to 6.0 in the match, but it was not enough, as USF handled the overmatch opponents in the final three sets.
The win did not come easy over 1-16 DePaul, as the Blue Demons stormed out to an early lead, and eventually put the Bulls in their rear-view mirrors, taking set one easily, 25-11.
Set number two was much more competitive; with back-and-forth action much of the way with USF taking a 24-21 lead, but DePaul came back taking a 25-24 lead, but could not hold on as the Bulls took set two 27-25.
After the break between sets two and three, the Bulls energy level picked up and USF was able to take set three in convincing fashion, 25-16.
The fourth set was more of the same from the Bulls, who finally hit their stride hitting .452 in the decisive fourth frame to take the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
The win wrapped up a seven match homestand for the Bulls, who will now be on the road for the next for the next three weekends including a trip to Pittsburgh and West Virginia next week.
