CINCINNATI, OCTOBER 19, 2018 – The USF volleyball team fell to first-place Cincinnati on the road Friday night in three sets (23-25, 17-25, 12-25).

The Bulls (14-7, 3-5 The American) were neck-and-neck with the Bearcats (18-4, 8-0 The American) in the opening set. After falling behind 17-12, USF went on a 7-2 run to tie the score 19-19. The Bulls were within a point, 24-23, but Cincinnati escaped with a close win.

Despite a strong match from junior Jac'cara Walker (Gainesville, Fla.) and senior setter Briana Stowell (Orlando), the Bearcats were aided by a series of runs in the second set (25-17) and the third (25-12), winning the match playing the minimum.  

Notables

Coach Courtney Draper on the match:
"I thought we did a good job offensively, but our defense was disappointing. Cincinnati I a very good team, but our execution was not where it could have been, allowing them to get momentum in the second set which ultimately turned into a dangerous situation for us. There weren't enough subs and time outs to slow them down and they got on a roll in those last two sets."

Notables

• Walker finished with 12 kills and nine digs, hitting .320.  
• Stowell had 26 assists and eight digs.

Key Stats
   
23 – Redshirt senior Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) recorded two blocks and needs just 23 to reach 400 for her career.
13.5 – USF held the nation's leading point scorer, Cincinnati's Jordan Thompson to season lows of 12 kills and 13.5 points.

Up Next
The Bulls will travel to Greenville, N.C. for a matchup at ECU Sunday at noon.  

About USF Volleyball
Led by redshirt senior middle blocker Clara Payne, who paced the team with 300 points and finished seventh in The American with a .290 hitting percentage, USF and seventh-year head coach Courtney Draper are excited for 2018. Senior setter Briana Stowell finished second on the team in 2017 with 243 assists and averaged 22.3 per match in the final month of the year. The Bulls are welcoming six new faces to the roster, with five talented freshmen and a skilled outside hitter coming from Marshall University.
 
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