University of South Florida head coach Courtney Draper has preached it all year - side out well, and the team will be successful.

The Bulls (12-9 overall, 4-4 BIG EAST) sided out when it counted Sunday, and pushed through a pair of Georgetown rallies to knock off the Hoyas in five sets at the Corral, 25-15, 17-25, 25-13, 18-25, 15-10.

Despite a close match, each set held a decisive winner as either USF or Georgetown would hold an edge in the passing and side-out game. In each set, the winning team sided out at a clip of 60 percent or higher, while the losing team took the serve back less than fifty percent of the time.

"Ultimately, it came down to the side-out game, and we sided out just a hair better than they did," Draper said. "I constantly remind my team that there are some games or points you have to win, and they've responded well to that pressure."

In a 5-5 fifth-set tie, senior Claudia Cabrera stepped up for the Bulls, sprawling out along the ten-foot line to dig up a would-be Georgetown kill, and extending the point for sophomore Valerie El Houssine to terminate on a heavy swing, pushing the momentum in USF's favor late in the match. The Bulls would increase their 6-5 lead to 11-7, and pull away to win the match, putting an exclamation point on the end with freshman Erin Fairs' cross-court kill.

Cabrera said USF's momentum swings came down to picking each other up throughout the match.

"You want everyone to be on their A-game, but when somebody is off, we've had other players to pick them up," Cabrera said. "That's why it's a team sport, and I think our team gets that. We all know if one person makes a mistake, there are two teammates there to help them out."

Using a strong defensive effort behind the block, the Bulls allowed just nine kills in the first set, picking up 24 digs to hold Georgetown to a .022 hitting percentage. Cabrera captained the back row with eight of her match-high 26 digs, setting up the offense to pound out 14 kills in the 25-15 win.

Georgetown's offense responded in the second set, finishing off 18 kills as the Hoyas picked off each opening to hit .316. USF meanwhile lost momentum offensively, collecting just 11 kills. Junior Kayla Walton and freshmen Erin Fairs and Ciara Brown collected three kills apiece in the set, but the Hoyas dug up 19 USF shots to secure a second-set win.

El Houssine took charge offensively in the third, knocking out seven of her 14 kills in the set while hitting .455 and leading the Bulls to their most lopsided match win of the day. USF sided out at 76 percent, and out-hit Georgetown .344-.029 as the Bulls appeared to take control of the match.

Instead, the Hoyas once again made adjustments. Taking a gutsy five-swing, five-kill effort from senior middle blocker Lindsay Wise and a strong service game, Georgetown picked apart the Bulls' back line, sealing a 25-18 win and forcing a fifth set.

The Bulls finished with four players reaching double-digit kills, with Walton steadily leading the way, posting 16 kills and hitting .350. Fairs and Brown each added 10 kills, and Brown hit a team-high .421. Fairs grabbed 19 digs for the second time in two matches, as eight different Bulls recorded at least one dig.

Junior middle blocker Andrea Rodriguez Gomez led the team with seven blocks, and senior Caitlyn Breen notched six. Fairs and Walton each had four as USF out-blocked Georgetown 15-8.5.