By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA – The Bulls were happy to be home Saturday afternoon and it showed on the scoreboard.
The USF volleyball team (6-9, 2-1 BIG EAST) swept Big East opponent Rutgers (6-13, 0-3 BIG EAST), 25-19, 25-10, 25-22, at the on-campus recreational center, powered by five service aces from
Valerie El Houssine.
“The thing I was most impressed with was our serving,” head coach Claire Lessinger said. “We came out really aggressive and were able to get Rutgers in some one and two options, which usually bodes pretty well for us in terms of blocking.”
The game plan worked almost to perfection for USF, which had spent most of September playing on the road. El Houssine added 11 kills and the Bulls got another 11-kill performance from
Kayla Walton.
Walton, a sophomore, now ranks third on the team with 113 kills this season.
“That was our game plan - to come out and serve aggressively and try to score some runs on defense,” Lessinger said.
Shelbie Dailey was all over the place, setting the Bulls up in the process. The freshman posted 27 assists and leads the team in the category by a far margin with 384.
“The goal was to try and score two and three points in a row after the service line, and I know we accomplished that today,” Lessinger said.
USF is back at home Sunday to face Seton Hall at 1 p.m.
