A potent attack up the middle combined with a strong serving game proved to be the Achilles heel of the University of South Florida volleyball team Friday night, as Cincinnati upended the Bulls in a five-set thriller inside The Corral.

USF (15-12 Overall, 9-4 The American) fell victim to a three-set comeback at the hands of the Bearcats, who trailed the Bulls 2-0 at intermission only to pick up the win, 16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-10.

Cincinnati served up 10 aces, compared to six by USF (five of which coming from Erin Fairs), and had five different players record double-digit digs behind a 14-10 blocking advantage.

The Bulls sided out at 75 percent in the first set, dominating play at the net as well as in the back row. Andrea Rodriguez Gomez picked up four of her eight blocks in the first set alone, and the Bulls out-hit Cincinnati .389-.118.

USF hit at an even higher percentage in the second set, getting five kills from Fairs and three more from Jennica Mullins, pounding out 16 team kills on just two errors to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

The Bearcats came clawing back in the third however, scratching out a win with four service aces, and out-played the Bulls from that point on. USF managed just 15 kills in the final two sets, as Cincinnati collected its first win against USF in the Courtney Draper era.

Fairs led all scorers with 19 kills, adding 19 digs for the double-double. Rodriguez Gomez contributed 12 kills and eight blocks, while Ciara Brown knocked down 10 kills and had three blocks.

Amy Van Sant led the defense with 24 digs. The Bulls return to The Corral Sunday at noon to face Louisville, in hopes of getting back into the win column.