El Houssine Is Big East's Freshman of the Week

Women's Volleyball USF

Rally Lifts USF Over Syracuse In Big East Opener

Info.
Box Score Schedule & Results
 Season Stats
 USF Roster
Syracuse
Stat
USF
Fisher, Andrea
 16
Kills
  30   El Houssine, Valerie
Laura Homann
 51
Assists
  65
Dailey, Shelbie
Ashley Williams
 31
Digs
  21
Rivera, Janice
Nicolette Serratore
7
Blocks
  4
Breen, Caitlyn

 

 

 

 

 

 


Team 1 2 3 4 5 Sets
USF
 21
 22
 29 29
 15 3
Syracuse
 25
 25
 27 27
 12 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer 

SYRACUSE - The Bulls found themselves down two sets at Syracuse, but head coach Claire Lessinger's crew was far from finished Friday night.

The USF volleyball team (5-8, 1-0 BIG EAST) dug deep to sweep the final three sets and hand the Orange (9-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) a 21-25, 22-25, 29-27, 29-27, 15-12 loss in the Big East opener for both programs.

“We just willed ourselves to win,” Lessinger said.

Several personal records were either broken or tied in the process.

Shelbie Dailey posted career highs in assists (65) and digs (10). Valerie El Houssine posted the most kills (30) and digs (16) as a Bull. J'beria Davis tied her single-match top mark for kills with 22, while Andrea Rodriguez Gomez tied her career high in kills (13) that set last season against Syracuse.

Janice Rivera also shined with 21 digs and fell just two short of 1,000 in her career at USF.

“These guys left it all out there until the bitter end. That takes a lot to do on the road,” Lessinger said.

USF's goal was to come out and play aggressive and smart on offense from the start. The Bulls finally got warmed up offensively in the third set and the momentum swung greatly in their favor.

“We just got into some really good rhythms in the third,” Lessinger said.

Kills haven't come in bunches for this young USF team this season, but the third set could be its breakthrough. Lessinger's bunch posted 22 kills against a Syracuse squad that leads the country in blocks per set (3.34).

“Those are just big, big hurdles for this young team,” Lessinger said.

By the match's end, four Bulls also finished in double-digit dig totals. Claudia Cabrera was the fourth with 13.

“Our defense behind our block was incredible,” Lessinger said.

USF looks to build on its triumph in its next match 1 p.m. Sunday at Marquette.





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Players Mentioned

Claudia Cabrera

#6 Claudia Cabrera

DS
5' 6"
Junior
Shelbie Dailey

#23 Shelbie Dailey

S
5' 8"
Freshman
Valerie El Houssine

#18 Valerie El Houssine

OH
5' 11"
Freshman
Andrea Rodriguez Gomez

#16 Andrea Rodriguez Gomez

MB
6' 0"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Claudia Cabrera

#6 Claudia Cabrera

5' 6"
Junior
DS
Shelbie Dailey

#23 Shelbie Dailey

5' 8"
Freshman
S
Valerie El Houssine

#18 Valerie El Houssine

5' 11"
Freshman
OH
Andrea Rodriguez Gomez

#16 Andrea Rodriguez Gomez

6' 0"
Sophomore
MB