University of South Florida
Winthrop
Trio of Bulls Shine in Five-Set Loss
September 13, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
AUBURN, ALA., SEPT. 12, 2014 - Senior middle blocker Jennica Mullins' reunion with her former team was spoiled Friday night, as the USF volleyball team dropped a close match to Winthrop at Auburn's tournament. Mullins hit .450 with ten kills in her first time back on the court with the Eagles since her sophomore season, and got lots of help from outside hitters Erin Fairs and Dakota Hampton, but the Bulls struggled to get the rest of the offense going, opening the door for Winthrop to edge out a five-set comeback win, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10. Fairs, Mullins and Hampton combined to collect 41 of USF's 51 kills, hitting .295 as a trio. USF (2-5 overall) nearly turned that into a win, despite committing 27 hitting errors in the match. The trio combined for 10 of USF's 11 kills in the first set, committing just one error as the Bulls out-hit Winthrop .143-.000 in a first set win. Fairs registered a team-high five kills in the set, while sophomore libero Amy Van Sant solidified the defense, producing four digs. USF's offense appeared to spring to life in the second set, as freshmen Joli Holland and Priscilla Ehieze racked up three kills apiece on a combined eight swings, helping the Bulls to a .375 hitting percentage. The Bulls out-played the Eagles in every category except sideout percentage, but it was enough to allow Winthrop a 25-23 equalizer. USF appeared to grab the momentum back in the third set, collecting all 11 kills and three of the Bulls' four blocks from the combination of Fairs, Hampton and Mullins. Hampton led the charge, knocking down five kills in 11 attempts, swatting home the final two points of the set to give USF a 2-1 lead in the match. The Bulls fell behind 15-8 in the fourth before nearly completing an incredible comeback on the heels of a five-point serving run from Holland. Down 24-23 in the fourth, USF couldn't stop Winthrop's game winning kill, sending the Bulls into their second five-set match of the season. Unlike USF's win at home over Buffalo, this fifth set did not go the Bulls' way. Winthrop vamped up its offense, hitting .350 and holding USF to just four kills to take the set 15-10, ending the match. In the loss, Fairs recorded her third 20-kill match of the season, hitting .311 with 13 digs and five blocks. Hampton just missed a double-double, contributing 11 kills and nine digs. Mullins' 10 kills and .450 hitting percentage complimented the senior's team-leading six blocks. Mullins surpassed 400 career blocks in the match, becoming just the sixth Bull in history to accomplish that feat. Defensively, Van Sant led the way with 17 digs. USF is back in action Saturday, taking on Troy at 10:30 a.m., and Auburn at 8:30 p.m. |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
