Bulls Look to Improve Upon 5-1 Start With Weekend Tournament in Brooklyn
EVENT: Blackbird Invitational
DATES: Friday, Sept. 7 – Saturday, Sept. 8
USF SCHEDULE: Friday
– vs. George Washington, 10 a.m., at LIU Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday – vs. Holy Cross, noon
LOCATION: Steinberg Wellness Center (2,000), Brooklyn, N.Y.
WATCH: USF at LIU Brooklyn,
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TWITTER UPDATES: @USFVolleyball
LIVE STATS
TAMPA, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 – Following an impressive win at LSU, the USF volleyball team heads north for the final road tournament of 2018, as it competes at the Blackbird Invitational in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 7-8.
For the second time in the last three years, the Bulls have won at least five of the first six matches of the season. USF went 2-1 at last weekend's Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge. After battling Duke in a four-set loss, the Bulls defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi in five sets and downed LSU on Saturday in five sets.
Freshman libero
CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) was named the Tiger Classic Best Defender with a tournament high 92 digs. She tallied 34 in the match against Duke, a figure that tied for the third most digs in a single match in program history. Clausen was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Sophomore middle blocker
Jaeden Brown (Hollywood, Fla.) had a team best 34 kills in Baton Rouge with 11 blocks. She recorded a career high 15 kills in the win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Nota-Bulls
- Clausen leads The American and is 13th nationally with 152 digs this season. She sits 23rd in the country with 5.43 digs per set.
- USF is 4-0 in five-set matches this season and 7-0 since the start of the 2017.
- The Bulls lead The American with 466 digs on the year.
- Junior outside hitter Jac'cara Walker (Gainesville, Fla.) leads the team with 68 kills.
- Brown has 61 kills and a team high 24 blocks. She's hitting .313 this season.
Get to Know the Opponents
George Washington
The Colonials are led by junior outside hitter Skylar Iott, who leads the team with 87 kills this season. She leads her conference and is 43
rd nationally with 4.67 points per set. Junior setter Jaimeson Lee leads the team with 210 assists and freshman libero Bella Bowman has 110 digs.
LIU Brooklyn
The defending NEC champs are 2-4 to begin 2018. Reigning NEC Player of the Year, senior outside hitter Viktoria Fink has a team best 58 kills and 10 blocks. Setter Amanda Hubbard leads the team with 128 kills and libero Natalia Rivera has a team best 87 digs.
Holy Cross
A pair of newcomers in freshmen outside hitters Regan Wright and Johnna Shamely lead the Crusaders with 52 and 50 kills, respectively. Wright is fourth nationally with 22 service aces this year.
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. Senior defensive specialist Maria McLamb led USF with 381 digs as a junior, finishing 10th in The American with 3.89 digs per set. 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 –
