USF Athletics

Total Team Effort Gives Bulls win at Cincinnati

November 05, 2017

CINCINNATI, Ohio, Nov. 5, 2017 – The University of South Florida volleyball team received kills from eight different players, as a balanced attack fueled a comeback win in five sets Sunday afternoon (25-20, 21-25, 12-25, 26-24, 15-12).

After the seventh tie of the opening set, the Bulls (10-14, 5-9 The America) used a 6-1 run with the score knotted at 19-19 to take a 1-0 match lead. USF led by as much as four early in the second set, but the Bearcats (10-16, 8-6 The American) came back and tied the set six different times. With the Bulls up 17-16, Cincinnati used a 9-4 run to close the frame and tied the match.
 
Following a Bearcat win in the third set, The Bulls maintained a four-point edge for much of the fourth set. Down 20-16, Cincinnati tied the set at 23-23. The Bulls were able to send it to five sets, scoring three of the next four points.
 
Trailing 9-7 in the fifth set, USF grabbed its first lead with three-straight points. With the score knotted at 12-12, the balance that the Bulls exhibited all afternoon was again on display, as three-straight kills from Jaeden Brown (Hollywood, Fla.), Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) and Reagan Davey (Ocala, Fla.) clinched the come-from-behind victory.
 
NOTABLES

• Eight Bulls recorded kills, led by freshman Doris Carter (Lexington, Ky.) and senior Priscilla Ehieze (Houston) with nine each.
• Brown and Payne each had eight kills and senior Joli Holland (Dublin, Calif.) had six kills and seven block assists.  
• The Bulls got contributions from both setters, as junior setter Briana Stowell (Orlando) and senior Alex Mendoza (Minneola, Fla.) each had 21 assists. Mendoza now has 3,004 career assists. 
• Stowell tallied her first double-double with 11 digs.
• Libero Sydney Richeson (Gainesville, Fla.) had a career-high 26 digs.
• USF is now 3-0 in five-set matches this season.
• The Bulls matched a season-high with 24 block assists.

QUOTABLES

Head coach Courtney Draper on the comeback win:
"This was a total team effort, we used 12 players and everyone stepped up when we needed them the most."
 
Head coach Courtney Draper on using both setters and the offensive balance:
"I thought both Briana and Alex made really good decisions and kept the offense balanced. Cincinnati is a very scrappy team and they made it very difficult to get kills, but everyone stayed patient.
 
Head coach Courtney Draper on the team's defense:
"Our blocking started a little slow, but picked up in sets four and five. Sydney did an outstanding job at libero and she was very strong in serve recurve."
 
 
UP NEXT
The Bulls return home for the final full weekend of the season. USF will host Houston Friday at 3:00 p.m., then honor its seniors Sunday against Tulane.        


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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