JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 16, 2017 – The USF volleyball team dropped the opening set Saturday at the Dolphin Invitational, but responded by winning the next six to defeat Presbyterian College in four sets (19-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-19) and Jacksonville in straight sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-21).
 
Junior outside hitter Reagan Davey (Ocala, Fla.) and redshirt-junior middle blocker Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) were both named to the all-tournament team.
 
The Bulls (4-5) doubled their win total in a matter of four hours behind excellent play on both ends. Following a 25-19 loss against the Blue Hose (3-9) in the opening set, USF controlled the final three sets. Presbyterian College did not reach 20 points the rest of the way.
 
USF led by as many as 12 in the second set, then finished with the nine-point difference in the third set. With the score tied at 14-14 in the fourth set, USF recorded eight of the next 10 points to take a 22-16 edge, helping it win the set and match. Davey was on fire in the fourth set with seven of her career-best 16 kills.
 
In the opening set against the Dolphins (5-7), the Bulls trailed 14-9. A Payne kill sparked an 8-1 run, giving them a lead they would not lose, going on to take the set 25-18. USF held an 18-16 edge in the second set and stretched it to an eight-point edge before winning 25-17. Senior outside hitter Priscilla Ehieze (Houston, Texas) and freshman Nikkia Benitez (Miami) had three and two kills during the run, respectively.
 
Jacksonville led 20-17 in the third set before USF went on an 8-1 run to win the set and match. Ehieze had three three-straight kills to give the Bulls the final lead change of the match, 22-21.   
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Courtney Draper on the team's strong finish to tournament play:
"I'm very proud of the way this team came together today. It was great ending to these pre-season tournaments prior to conference play. It was a total team effort all day, especially the second match. With that being the second of a back-to-back, it was great to see."
 
Head coach Courtney Draper on Reagan Davey's stellar tournament:
"Reagan really had a breakthrough weekend for us. She had 3.27 kills per set, 3.45 digs per set and was incredible from the outside."

Head coach Courtney Draper on what clicked offensively on Saturday:
"Both of our starting middies were hot offensively on Saturday. That really allowed our offense to operate extremely efficiently."
 
KEY STATS

• Payne (22) and Davey (27) combined for 49 kills on Saturday.
• Davey had 36 kills in the tournament with 38 digs. She tallied 22 digs against Presbyterian.
• Payne totaled 26 kills and 14 total blocks while hitting at a .383 clip.
• Ehieze recorded 11 kills against the Dolphins.
• Senior Joli Holland (Dublin, Calif.) recorded 22 kills, 14 digs and seven total blocks in the tournament.   
• Senior setter Alex Mendoza (Minneola, Fla.) had her best weekend of the year and best two matches on Saturday. She doled out 130 assists in the three matches, 91 coming against the Blue Hose and Dolphins.

NOTABLES

• Payne has been named to all-tournament teams in all three of USF's non-conference tournaments.
• The Bulls improve to 29-15-1 against Jacksonville and have a seven-match winning streak.
• USF tallied a season-high 59 kills against Presbyterian College.
• The Bulls recorded 17 service aces in the tournament, 14 on Saturday.  

UP NEXT
USF returns home for the first time since Sept. 2 for the American Athletic Conference opening weekend. The Bulls will host Cincinnati at 7:00 p.m. Friday and East Carolina and noon 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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