NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 20, 2017 – The USF volleyball team dominated offensively to earn a straight-sets win at Tulane Friday night (25-17, 25-16, 25-21).  

In the first set, the Bulls (8-11, 3-6 The American) used a 5-0 run to take their first lead, 14-13, of a back-and-forth start. The stretch ultimately became a 16-4 USF run led by five kills from freshman Doris Carter (Lexington, Ky.), giving the Bulls a 25-17 win
 
The Green Wave (12-10, 1-8 The American) got to within one, 11-10, in the second set. But USF answered with an 8-0 run to take a commanding 19-10 advantage. A Carter kill and a Faby Ribas (Orlando) service ace closed out the set, 25-16, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead.  
 
Tulane opened with a 4-1 edge in the third set, then extended the lead to 14-9. The Bulls called a timeout, then came out of the break with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set, 15-14. The Reagan Davey (Ocala, Fla.) show began, as the junior outside hitter had five-straight kills to ignite what was ultimately a 10-1 USF run, giving it a 19-15 lead. The Green Wave got no closer than three, as Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) finished it off with her 10^th kill to win the set, 25-21, and the match.
 
KEY STATS

• Davey finished with 11 kills and Carter and Payne tallied 10 each.
• Payne hit .529 and Carter hit .409.
• Carter now has eight double-digit kill outings on the year and has hit over .300 in three-straight matches.
• Senior setter Alex Mendoza (Minneola, Fla.) tallied a match-high 42 assists.
• USF hit a season-high .333.

QUOTABLES

Head coach Courtney Draper on dominant win:
"I'm very proud of our performance tonight and it was a total team effort. Our defense was solid and our offense was as good as we've been this year."

Head coach Courtney Draper on what worked so well on offense:
"We won the serving and passing game which is hard to see from a stats perspective, but a very vital part. Alex made some great selections passing and our hitters stayed aggressive with low-error volleyball all night."
 
Head coach Courtney Draper looking ahead and closing out the weekend strong:
"This was a great start for us, but we have a quick turnaround and are focused on what we need to do to succeed Sunday at Houston."
 
UP NEXT
The Bulls look to make it a perfect weekend when they head to Houston for 2 p.m. start on Sunday.    

About USF Volleyball
In addition to 10 newcomers, USF returns a large core of talent for 2017, led by senior setter Alex Mendoza, who surpassed the 2,000 assist total in 2016 and posted a team-high 1,125 helpers. Redshirt-junior middle blocker Clara Payne finished second on the team with 340 points and senior middle blocker Joli Holland finished fourth with 251.5 points. The Bulls are guided by sixth-year head coach Courtney Draper.
 
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