University of South Florida
Wisconsin
Bulls Fall Short Against Scrappy Wisconsin Team
August 25, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
After a feeling-out period in the first set, head coach Courtney Draper's new-look Bulls (0-1 overall) matched Wisconsin through the final two sets Friday night, opening the season with promising play despite losing 17-25, 23-25, 22-25 to a strong Badgers' team.
USF out-blocked Wisconsin 9-6, but the Badgers' scrappy defense forced the Bulls into 24 hitting errors, allowing Wisconsin to out-hit USF .194-.128 en route to the three-set win.
"Wisconsin is probably the toughest team we have on our schedule, so we knew it was going to be a tough match tonight," Draper said. "We were just a little inconsistent, offensively. Of course we wanted to do more, but we kept it close and I was fairly pleased for our first match of the season."
USF senior outside hitter J'beria Davis came out strong for the Bulls, pounding out five kills in eight swings in the first set, but it was the Badgers who jumped out to the early lead, rattling off a 10-1 run on the strength of six USF hitting errors to take control of set one and never look back.
But the Bulls turned a corner in the second set, extending points with 24 digs, and creating good scoring opportunities for their hitters. Eight different attackers scored for USF as the Bulls produced 17 kills and out-hit Wisconsin .302-.255 in the set. Sophomore outside hitter Valerie El Houssine led the way with five of her team-high 11 kills, but really set the tone defensively, posting a set-high seven digs to help set up the offense.
"The first set is always the toughest, because we don't have as much information, scouting-wise," El Houssine said. "After playing one set, I think we figured out what they were trying to do with their shots, and we started making the right moves defensively."
Tied at 22 in the second, Wisconsin rolled out three of the final four points with two kills and a block, sending USF into the break down two sets to none, despite a strong second-set effort which saw USF out-hit, out-block and out-dig its opponent.
Using a three-point run to crawl out of a 14-18 hole in the third, it appeared as if the momentum might send the Bulls to a third-set win. Junior middle blocker Andrea Rodriguez Gomez teamed with freshman outside Erin Fairs to collect her fourth block of the set and bring USF to within one point at 22-23, but Wisconsin closed out the final two points, sending the Bulls to their first loss of the season.
El Houssine led USF with 11 kills, and added 12 digs, but said she was very impressed with the play of the Bulls' freshmen starters.
"We still have a few things to learn, but I think our freshmen stepped in and did an awesome job tonight," El Houssine said.
Fairs posted seven kills and two blocks in her USF debut, while freshman setter Wylie Devlin contributed 16 assists and seven digs. Rodriguez Gomez hit .312 with five kills and five blocks, and senior libero Claudia Cabrera shored up the back row with 14 digs and four assists.
With the first match out of the way and another good team in Creighton on the schedule tomorrow afternoon, there was nothing but positivity flowing from Rodriguez Gomez.
"I think we got the jitters out, and we're ready to go for tomorrow," she said.
