DALLAS, NOV. 25, 2015 – The University of South Florida volleyball team (11-20, 8-11 AAC) went on the road and took down the American Athletic Conference Champions, Southern Methodist University (26-4, 16-2 AAC) three sets to one (25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22) on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior Denise Belcher (Apopka, Fla.) led USF offensively with 17 kills. Freshman Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) also set career-highs in kills (13) and attack percentage (.435). In total, four Bulls tallied double-digit kills and three more had over 10 assists.
“I'm incredibly proud of our team and their performance today,” said USF head volleyball coach Courtney Draper. “Our setters did a great job mixing up the offense and out attackers made the most of their opportunities. SMU is a great team, the best in our conference, so to be able to beat them late in the season says a lot about our team and the fight that these girls have.”
USF trailed 7-2 early on before tallying seven of the next eight points to take the first set lead. The Bulls never relinquished the advantage the rest of the set in the 25-20 win.
SMU roared back to score the first five points of the second set but USF rebounded to tie the Mustangs at 17. After each team tallied a pair of points, the Bulls scored six of the final 10 points to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Payne fueled USF's comeback with five kills in the set.
Down two sets to none, the Mustangs stayed alive in the match by winning the third set 25-23. The Bulls then put the match away, rallying to tie things up at eight, and never trailing again in the 25-23 victory.
Junior Dakota Hampton (Orland Park, Ill.) compiled her 17th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 20 digs. Her hitting percentage for the match was .229. Holland also recorded 10 kills in the match. Senior Wylie Devlin (Winter Park, Fla.) had a team-high 22 digs in the match. Freshman Molly Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.), senior Olga Morekhodova (Key West, Fla.), and senior Natalia Soares (Porto Alegre, Brazil) all had double-digit assists for the Bulls.
USF complete the 2015 regular season at Tulsa on Friday, Nov. 27 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
The USF volleyball program has reached the NCAA Tournament seven times and boasts seven conference championships. The Bulls return five starters (plus a libero) from last season's team. USF is guided by fourth year head coach Courtney Draper. Follow the volleyball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
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