University of South Florida
No. 3 Notre Dame
Bulls Drive Past Notre Dame in Quarterfinals
November 17, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
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Just weeks after suffering its only sweep since August, the University of South Florida volleyball team dished out revenge. The Bulls (17-13 overall) grabbed their first win over Notre Dame in school history Friday, snapping an 8-match losing streak with a four-set win in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament in Milwaukee, Wis., 25-17, 18-25, 25-23, 25-19 over the third-seed Fighting Irish. “To be on neutral ground with a second chance against Notre Dame was great,” head coach Courtney Draper said. “Our girls stayed focused and patient, and played like they had nothing to lose.” After losing the battle in most statistical categories during the team's first meeting of the year, USF out-blocked, out-hit and out-dug Notre Dame, all while holding a telling 7-1 advantage in service aces, as the Bulls used a strong overall effort to advance to the semifinal round. The Bulls jumped ahead early over Notre Dame, using a one-error performance from the team's attack to out-hit Notre Dame .448-.206. Leading 13-12 midway through the set, USF used a kill and solo block from senior Caitlyn Breen to post a 5-1 run, opening up the set for the Bulls to win it comfortably. Freshman Ciara Brown came out of the gate strong, posting four of her 11 kills in the first set while hitting .444. Tied at a set apiece, the Bulls looked to senior J'beria Davis in the third, and the outside hitter did not disappoint. Davis pounded out seven kills, including three of USF's last four points, giving the Bulls a 2-1 advantage in the match And as much as it was Davis' show in the third, USF and Davis received some big help in the fourth. The BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in Erin Fairs contributed six kills, two service aces and a block, including the final kill of the match to send USF to the BIG EAST Semifinals Saturday. Leading 18-17 in the fourth, the Bulls would not commit an error in the final nine points to complete their first win over Notre Dame in school history. “Notre Dame did a good job of trying to take us out of what we usually try to do, but other players stepped up for us,” Draper said. “We were in system a lot, but we chose to go to J'beria and Erin a little more, and I think it caught Notre Dame off balance a little bit.” Davis paced the Bulls with 18 kills, hitting .467 and completing a double-double with 11 digs. Fairs also notched a double-double, notching 12 kills and 14 digs to go with a team-leading three aces and three blocks. Senior Claudia Cabrera led the defense with 16 digs, while freshmen Wylie Devlin and Natalia Soares teamed up to set up the offense, recording 24 and 26 digs, respectively. The Bulls will play second-seeded Marquette in a semifinal matchup, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. USF took the Golden Eagles to five sets earlier this season losing in the final frame. The game will be broadcast live for free on the BIG EAST website's championship page, and live stats will also be available.
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