No. 15 FSU 3, USF 0  | Box Score PDF | Live Chat Transcript   1 2 3 4 5 F USF 20 11 21 - - 0 No. 15 FSU 25 25 25 - - 3  Top Performers  Player Kills Hitting Pct. Blocks Digs Points USF - Rozier 9 .172 3 7 10.5 USF - Strazdina 7 .368 1 3 8.5 FSU - Djurdjevic 11 .241 1 9 11.5 FSU - Milosavljevic 7 .700 3 1 8.5 USF Volleyball Central • Volleyball Main Page | Ticket Information | BullsVision • 2010 Weekly Releases • USF Season Statistics | BIG EAST Conference | NCAA

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In its first match of the 2010 season, the University of South Florida volleyball team fell to the No. 15 Florida State Seminoles, 3-0, Saturday night at Tully Gymnasium in the FSU Invitational.

"We were really competitive two of the three matches tonight," said head coach Claire Lessinger. "I felt like when we were passing well our side out offensive was really in sync."

The Seminoles (3-0) blanked the Bulls (0-1) 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 as they outhit USF in kills, 43-33 and .271 to.158 in attack percentage. On a positive note, the Bulls out-blocked FSU, 8.0-7.0.

Newcomers Kimika Rozier led the Bulls offensively with nine kills while freshman Andrea Rodriguez Gomez had a match high five blocks. Senior Mariana Thon also had a match high 27 assists and junior Janice Rivera lead all with 13 digs. Sophomore Maija Strazdina was 7-for-19 without an attack error on the night hitting a team high, .368.

"When we play solid volleyball on our side of the net we are competitive with anyone and that is what we have drawn from this match," said Lessinger. "We just have to minimize the errors that are killing us."

Florida State's Visnja Djurdjevic was the lone player to finish with double-digit kills for the match with 11.

After being down early in the first set, 3-1, the Bulls fight back to take a 7-3 lead. After a block by sophomore Caitlyn Breen and transfer Rozier to even the score, 3-3, Breen followed with a solo block to give the Bulls a one point lead. Freshman Andrea Rodriguez Gomez earned the  first ace of her young career to extend the Bulls lead by three.

"First, I am very proud to be a Bull," said Rodriguez Gomez. "If anything, I try and keep our teams intensity up because the way we play is from the heart."

After being up 12-11 on a kill by senior setter Mariana Thon, the Seminoles fought back to two straight points and never looked back. A kill by Jekaterina Stepanova gave FSU set one, 25-20.

After going on a 5-0 run in the second set, USF took a timeout to slow the Seminoles' momentum. FSU was not phased as they continued its run and took a commanding 16-2 lead. After a kill by Breen, the Bulls put three more points on the board to make it 16-5 but USF could not put together anymore runs as they fell, 25-11 in the second set.

After being down 2-0, the Bulls took the early 1-0 lead in the third set on a kill by sophomore transfer J'beria Davis. After being down, 7-3, Rodriguez Gomez teamed up with Davis to block Rachael Morgan to begin a Bulls 3-0 run.

"Because they have good hitters, I was focusing on closing the block," said Rodriguez Gomez. "I was trying to be the most effective with the block. We just have to focus on the positives because tomorrow is another day."

At match point, 24-19, USF strung together four straight points but a kill by Morgan gave the Seminoles the win.

"We need to turn around quickly and learn from this," said Lessinger. "I feel really optimistic that this group will grow with every match and every opportunity that surrounds them."

The Bulls will remain in Tallahassee as it finishes up its first road trip against Florida A&M at 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.