Volleyball hits the road for ECU and Cincinnati
MATCHUP: USF at ECU & Cincinnati
SCHEDULE: Friday, Nov. 5 at ECU (6 p.m.), Sunday, Nov. 7 at Cincinnati (1 p.m.)
FOLLOW: Live Stats at ECU | Live Stats at Cincinnati
WATCH: at ECU | at Cincinnati
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TAMPA (November 4, 2021) – The University of South Florida Bulls (6-17, 0-12 AAC) enter the final month of the regular season with a road trip to ECU (8-13, 4-8 AAC) and Cincinnati (13-7, 8-4 AAC). The Bulls and Pirates square off Friday at 6 p.m. and the weekend concludes against the Bearcats on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Five of USF's final eight matches will be played on the road.
South Florida swept a pair of matches at ECU last season before the Pirates came to Tampa last month and claimed a 3-1 victory. The Bulls dropped a pair of five set matches to the Bearcats in Tampa last season, and also lots in five sets to Cincinnati at home earlier this year.
USF enters the weekend ranked third in the AAC in aces/set (1.48) and fourth in blocks/set (2.20). The Bulls' presence at the net has limited opponents to a .215 attacking percentage.
Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia) leads the team with 34 service aces, followed by Alexis Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) with 26. Both are career highs.
Cvitkovic, a unanimous 2021 Preseason All-Conference selection, leads the Bulls and ranks ninth in the AAC in kills/set (3.16). She is averaging 3.5 kills/set over the last five matches. Cvitkovic floored 20 kills in her last matchup against ECU.
True freshman Tizi Puljiz (Resistencia, Argentina) ranks second on the team with 175 kills followed closely by fellow rookie Amanda DeWitt (Jupiter) with 157.
Eke Denessen (Venlo, Netherlands) and Kelsey O'Loughlin (Fort Lauderdale) have split setter duties for a majority of the season, while Madison Bragan (Tampa) has also entered the mix over the past two weeks. O'Loughlin leads the way with 459 assists. Her 5.52 assists/set rank 10th in the league.
True freshman Amiree Hendricks-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) has totaled 78 blocks this season. Puljiz and Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) have each stuffed over 60 blocks at the net as well.
CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) has a team-best 334 digs and ranks sixth in the AAC in digs/set (3.84). The libero ranks second all-time for digs in program history and enters the weekend with 1,556 career digs.
Scouting ECU
The Pirates enter the weekend on a two-match skid and have dropped five of their last six.
ECU is last in the AAC in kills/set (10.92), but does rank fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.208).
Sydney Kleinman (179), Natalie Tyson (173) and Bri Wood (169) lead the offensive attack in kills. Wood and Tyson combined for 33 of ECU's 67 in their last meeting with USF. Tia Shum ranks ninth in the league in digs/set (3.71) and Amelia Davis has a team-best 66 blocks at the net.
The Bulls lead the all-time series against the Pirates, 12-7.
Scouting Cincinnati
The Bearcats will host UCF on Friday before the Bulls come to town for the weekend finale on Sunday.
Cincinnati leads the AAC in kills/set (13.79) and are led by Maria Mallon (287) and Abby Walker (223) in kills. Mallon ranks fifth in the league in kills/set (3.54) and Walker was named to the AAC Honor Roll earlier this week after hitting .467 with 32 kills last weekend.
Walker also has a team-high 49 blocks while Payton Frederick ranks eighth in the AAC in digs/set (3.73).
Cincinnati leads the all-time series against USF, 27-13.
Up Next
The Bulls return home for a pair of matches at The Corral next weekend. USF hosts SMU on Thursday, Nov. 11 and Memphis on Saturday, Nov. 13.
About USF Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her second season at the helm of her alma mater in 2021-22. Named head coach on Jan. 8, 2020, Shepardson led the Bulls' program to its last conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance as a student-athlete in 2002. USF made its last postseason appearance in 2018, posting 20 wins and appearing in the NIVC. USF Volleyball has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won 12 conference titles since its inception in 1972 and is entering its 50th campaign in 2021-22. The Bulls play in The Corral (1,000), adjacent to the Yuengling Center on the USF campus.
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