Bulls Begin Four-Match Home stand Against Defending League Champs and Tulsa
MATCHES: USF vs. Wichita St. | USF vs. Tulsa
DATES: Friday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 7, noon
LOCATIONS: The Corral (1,000)
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFVolleyball
LIVE STATS: Friday | Sunday
Game Notes
TAMPA, OCTOBER 4, 2018 – Winners of three-straight road matches and nine-straight sets, the USF volleyball team begins a crucial home stand, hosting Wichita St. and Tulsa this weekend.
The Bulls (13-3, 2-1 The American) put it all together during their first full weekend of conference play, sweeping both Memphis and Tulane on the road. Redshirt senior
Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) led the team with 22 kills on a .487 hitting percentage last weekend, as she was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday.
Freshman setter
Lauren LaBeck (Chicago) had 16 assists against the Tigers on Sept. 28, then had 25 assists and 14 digs against the Green Wave on Sept. 30. Junior outside hitter
Jac'cara Walker (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded her eighth double-double of the year against Tulane with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Ten current Bulls have played against Wichita St. and Tulsa in their careers. Payne is hitting .333 with 49 kills in 19 sets against the Golden Hurricane in her career. She had 15 kills and four blocks in her only match vs. Tulsa last year, a five-set win. In two matches against Tulsa in 2016, Payne had 26 kills and 13 blocks, hitting .373. Sophomore defensive specialist
Faby Ribas (Orlando) had 19 digs in the only match against Tulsa in 2017.
Nota-Bulls
- Though both series histories are brief, Wichita St. leads USF 3-0 all-time and Tulsa leads the Bulls 4-3 all-time.
- Freshman libero CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) is fourth in The American and 38th nationally with 310 digs this season.
- The Bulls are second in The American and 35th in the country with 17.05 digs per set.
- Walker leads the team with 184 kills.
- Senior setter Briana Stowell (Orlando) is second in the conference with 543 assists this year. She has a team high nine double-doubles this season.
- Sophomore middle blocker Jaeden Brown (Hollywood, Fla.) is fourth in the league with 1.11 blocks per set.
Get to Know the Opponents
WICHITA ST.
The defending league champs lost a few senior leaders from last year's team that went 20-0 during The American slate, but the 2018 roster is not bereft of talent. The Shockers (7-7, 2-1 The American) have played a challenging schedule with matches against then-No. 1 Stanford, then-No. 9 BYU, then-No. 14 Creighton and then-No. 14 Cal Poly. Wichita St. is led by redshirt freshman outside hitter Megan Taflinger with 162 kills. Senior outside hitter, 2017 All-American and first team all-conference selection Tabitha Brown has 153 kills this year. Sophomore libero Giorgia Civita has 327 digs and was named to the second team all-conference last year.
TULSA
The Golden Hurricane are in the midst of a very good season at 11-4 (3-0 The American). Tulsa defeated Wichita St. for the first time in roughly 20 years in five sets last weekend, a match that included a wild 41-39 opening set. Tulsa is paced by senior outside hitter Emily Thorson with 188 kills. Tulsa also has one of the best liberos in the league in junior Taylor Horsfall, who leads the conference with 5.87 digs per set. As a team, the Golden Hurricane leads The American with 18.13 digs per set.
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.
Follow the volleyball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
– #GoBulls –
