TAMPA, Oct. 27, 2019 – Jac St. Cin had a career-high 22 kills to go along with a .526 hitting percentage and
Jordan Valley added a career-best 23 digs, but Houston used a 7-0 run in the deciding fifth set to outlast USF on its way to a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14) victory Sunday afternoon at The Corral.
Senior
Jac'cara Walker (Gainesville, Fla.) finished with 21 kills and a .436 hitting percentage off the bench, while
Lauren LaBeck (Chicago) registered 15 digs and three service aces.
Megan Duncan paced Houston with 18 kills and nine digs.
USF used a 5-2 run at the end of the first set to edge Houston 25-22, but the Cougars answered in the second set with the final two points to break a 23-23 tie and even the score. The third set saw USF erase an 18-21 deficit by closing on a 7-1 run that included four consecutive kills from St. Cin (St. Petersburg, Fla.) to earn the point.
Houston held off a late charge by USF to win the fourth set and force a deciding fifth set. The Bulls lead 14-9 following a kill from Walker, but Houston capitalized of four attack errors on its way to winning 16-14.
Quotable
"When you look at the box score, our numbers were good enough to win the match. We had 10 more digs and 13 more digs than they did. We played really good volleyball today, unfortunately, it didn't go our way today. I thought both
Jac St. Cin and
Jac'cara Walker were fantastic offensively. Both of them finished with over 20 kills and that's also a big credit to the defense
Jordan Valley played along with the distribution from
Lauren LaBeck."
Notables
- Jac St. Cin finished with a career-high 22 kills to help USF hold a 73-63 edge.
- Jordan Valley tallied a career-best 23 digs as USF featured a 82-69 advantage in digs.
Up Next
USF continues league play on Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Orlando, Fla. to face UCF in the second round of the War on I-4.
About USF Women's Volleyball
Be sure to follow USF women's volleyball on social media (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
Head coach Courtney Draper led her team to 20 wins in 2018, the most in her time at USF and the most for the program since 2002. The Bulls appeared in the NIVC, the program's first postseason trip since 2002. Senior outside hitter Jac'cara Walker led USF with 394 kills and recorded her 1000thcareer kill during the 2018 year, on her way to earning first team All-American Athletic Conference honors. USF returns four starters, including its libero, while welcoming 9 newcomers to the fray in 2019 in the form of two transfers and seven freshmen.