In a tournament focused on putting everything together, the University of South Florida volleyball team added another piece to the puzzle Saturday at the Corral.
The Bulls' back row play looked sharp in their second match of the season, out-digging Creighton 52-45. But it wasn't quite enough to win as USF (0-2 overall) dropped another three-set match by close scores, 18-25, 22-25, 23-25.
Eight Bulls recorded at least one dig in the match, but the Bluejays outhit USF .243-.142, committing just 13 hitting errors to the Bulls' 24.
"We showed a lot of discipline defensively," head coach Courtney Draper said. "Now we need to work on the offensive piece of it. We're committing too many errors at this point, and kind of beating ourselves up right now."
USF flashed signs of brilliance on offense, showcasing an extremely balanced offense as all six attackers recorded at least five kills. After a slow first set in which Creighton held the Bulls to a negative hitting percentage, USF picked up the pace, and nearly took both the second and third sets.
Led by a strong attack up the middle, USF looked like it would win its first set of the season in the second, taking a 19-18 lead late. Back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Erin Fairs provided the Bulls with a 21-18 cushion, but the Bluejays fired back with seven of the next eight points, sending USF to the break down two sets.
After providing three kills apiece in the second set, middle blockers Shelbey Bleke and Andrea Rodriguez Gomez continued to pace the Bulls' offense in the third. Bleke provided four kills on five swings, while Rodriguez Gomez added three of her team-leading eight kills. The middles received help from sophomore outside hitter Valerie El Houssine, whose four kills and .571 hitting percentage nearly paced the Bull's late comeback from a 19-24 deficit. El Houssine finished the match with seven kills and 11 digs, while hitting .375.
After sitting out the first four sets of the season, Bleke provided a splash in her first action as a Bull, posting seven kills, hitting .500 and collecting a solo block in two sets of action.
"Shelbey brings a lot of patience, maturity and experience to our team," Draper said. "She doesn't make mistakes and she finds a way to get kills."
Although USF hurt itself with 24 hitting errors, the Bulls' offensive system appeared to be more in-sync in the second match of the season. Using a pair of freshmen setters, USF connected with its hitters at a more consistent level as the match progressed, showing an improved comfort level between the hitters and their setters.
We've been in the gym practicing that a lot, but we're still trying to get to know each other," Bleke said of the improvements. "We're connecting a lot more, but there are still some little things that will take some time. The nice thing is we will go into tomorrow's match knowing we have control over the outcome just by cleaning up a few things."
Senior libero contributed a match-high 20 digs, setting a new career-high. Fairs matched junior right side hitter Kayla Walton with seven kills, and freshman setters Wylie Devlin and Natalia Soares notched 22 and 13 assists, respectively.
