University of South Florida
Seton Hall
Hot-Hitting Pirates Snap Bulls' Streak
September 23, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
A late push from the University of South Florida fell shy in Sunday's comeback attempt, halting the Bulls' winning streak at seven.
USF (9-6 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) just missed forcing a fifth set at Seton Hall, falling to the Pirates (13-1, 2-0) in an offensive-minded match, 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22.
After allowing Seton Hall to out-hit the Bulls .321-.284 in the first two sets, USF went to work defensively, closing its gaps to slow down the Pirates' attack. Seton Hall hit just .116 in the third set, allowing the Bulls to begin their comeback attempt with a third-set win.
USF nearly forced a fifth set, mounting a rally late in the fourth. Down 21-14, Bulls' sophomore Valerie El Houssine headlined an 8-1 run with a kill, a block and two service aces to help knot the score at 22. USF ran out of steam however, as Seton Hall took the final three points to win the set and match.
El Houssine finished with 13 kills and hit .323 to go with nine digs. Junior Kayla Walton continued her strong play, leading USF with 15 kills and hitting .375 in the loss. Five different Bulls collected three blocks as USF out-blocked Seton Hall by six, and statistically matched the Pirates in nearly every category.
Senior libero Claudia Cabrera was on of three Bulls to reach double-digit digs, finishing with 14 as freshman Erin Fairs added ten, and freshman Wylie Devlin posted a double-double with 12 digs and 21 assists.
The loss snapped a seven-match winning streak, which is the longest winning streak for USF since 2007.
