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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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| USF |
21 |
20 |
22 |
-- |
- |
0 |
| UConn |
25 |
25 |
25 |
-- |
- |
3 |
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STORRS, Conn.- With the race for the BIG EAST Championships heating up, the University of South Florida volleyball team has hit a rough patch after falling in straight sets to Connecticut on Sunday.
The Bulls, who opened up league play with a blistering 4-1 record, have now lost five out of their last seven BIG EAST matchups to put them at 6-7 in conference play heading into the final BIG EAST game next Sunday against Villanova.
USF sits in eighth place in the league, with eight teams earning a postseason berth in Pittsburgh.
The Bulls were shutout on Friday night in Queens, N.Y. by St. John's, before dropping all three sets against UConn on Sunday. After the shutout loss to the Red Storm, the Bulls wanted to put more of a focus on their defense, and being able to dig the ball.
Against UConn, head coach Claire Lessinger got a much better defensive effort from her team, as the Bulls collected 51 digs, compared just 39 from the Huskies.
USF had three players with double digit digs, including senior Christine Knoechel, who led the Bulls with 14 on the day. Junior Janice Rivera added 11, and freshman Andrea Rodriguez Gomez picked up 10.
Senior Allie Boaz continued her outstanding run offensively, as she recorded 15 kills against Connecticut, marking the fifth consecutive match with at least 15 kills. The Bulls' right side hitter hit .242 in the match, and added five digs and a pair of block assists.
Kamika Rozier had another efficient match, hitting .444 in the loss, and recording four kills against the Huskies.
The Bulls improved at the net as well on Sunday, as they outblocked Connecticut 7.0 to 5.0, including five block assists from Rodriguez Gomez.
Both offenses came out on fire in the opening set, with the Bulls hitting .259 in the opening frame, and the Huskies hit .290 as a team to take the set 25-21.
UConn hopped out to another early lead in set number two, but USF hung around, fighting off three straight set points before the Huskies eventually put away the Bulls, 25-20.
After the break, the Bulls were able to jump out ahead of the Huskies early in the third, but after leading for most of the set, UConn regained the lead late, and were able to hold off USF to take the set 25-22 and the match in straight sets.
The Bulls will take on Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night before hosting Villanova on Sunday in the BIG EAST regular season finale, as they try to claw their way into the BIG EAST Tournament.
