By: Mark Heise

TAMPA – Erin Fairs' streak of matches with double-digit kills came to an end Saturday night, but the sophomore was all smiles as the Bulls' offensive attack balanced itself out in the final match of the USF Tournament.

All six USF attackers recorded at least seven kills on at least 20 swings, keeping Ball State guessing as the Bulls out-lasted the Cardinals in five sets at The Corral, 28-26, 18-25, 25-21, 16-25, 18-16.

The Bulls committed just eight errors in the three sets they won, hitting .300 in sets one, three and five to overpower the Ball State defense.

Redshirt junior Carissa Whalen got off to a hot start for the Bulls, knocking down five kills in just eight swings in the first set, adding three blocks to help the Bulls grab a 28-26 first-set win. Whalen would finish with a team-high 15 kills, hitting .387 and contributing seven blocks in the match.

After losing a close second set, freshmen Kayla Bivins and Dakota Hampton took control late in the third, securing three of the Bulls' final five points on kills to hand USF a 2-1 match lead. Bivins had three kills in four attempts in the third set, while Hampton added three kills and four digs.

Facing down a pair of potential match points, the Bulls got solid senior leadership from Andrea Rodriguez Gomez, who finished the match strong, posting three of her seven kills in the final set, and adding three of a match-high eight blocks. With six block assists in the match, Rodriguez Gomez took sole possession of fifth place on USF's all-time block assists list, with 326.

Defensively, Fairs again led the team with 22 digs, with freshman libero Amy Van Sant adding 21 digs. Sophomore Wylie Devlin posted a double-double in assists and digs, with 27 and 12, respectively.

The Bulls' win finished off a 3-1 weekend, and secured the USF Tournament Championship for the team. Erin Fairs, Jennica Mullins and Natalia Soares were all named to the All-Tournament Team in recognition of their strong overall weekends.

USF travels to Creighton next weekend to face another set of strong opponents in No. 25 Creighton, California and Northern Colorado. Stay tuned to GoUSFBulls.com for updates on the team as it prepares for its first road trip of 2013.