Mendoza Records Season’s 11th Double-Double In Finale
TAMPA, Nov. 25, 2017 – The University of South Florida volleyball team showed heart and grit in the season finale, dropping a War on I-4 battle to UCF Saturday night (20-25, 22-25, 20-25).
The Bulls (12-18, 7-13 The American) kept things close in the opening set, led by four kills from freshman
Doris Carter (Lexington, Ky.), but fell 25-20. The second was tight midway through. Tied 14-14, the Knights went on a 5-0 run to take a 19-14 edge. Junior
Reagan Davey (Ocala, Fla.) had three kills during a 7-3 stretch to get USF within a point, 22-21. But UCF went on to take the second set, 25-22.
The Bulls fed off the crowd's energy in set three, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. The advantage was held until UCF tied the set, 16-16. With the score even at 18-18, a 7-2 Knight run closed the set and the match.
KEY NUMBERS
11: Senior setter
Alex Mendoza (Minneola, Fla.) tallied 18 assists and 11 digs for her 11
th double-double of the year.
4: Mendoza exits USF in fourth on the program's career assist list with 3,147.
14: Carter tallied 10 kills for her 14
th double-digit kill outing of the season.
NOTABLES
- Senior middle blocker Joli Holland (Dublin, Calif.) finishes her outstanding USF career in the top-10 in program history with a .305 hitting percentage.
- The Bulls outdug the Knights, 63-55, and had more assists, 39-37.
- Davey finished with a team-high 11 kills.
- Junior libero Maria McLamb (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) had a match-best 21 digs and added eight assists.
About USF Volleyball
In addition to 10 newcomers, USF returned 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.
Follow the volleyball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
– #GoBulls –
