Bulls tabbed seventh in AAC preseason poll, Cvitkovic named Preseason All-Conference
TAMPA (August 18, 2021) – The University of South Florida volleyball team has been voted to finish seventh in the 2021 American Athletic Conference standings by the preseason coaches' poll, the league announced on Wednesday. Additionally, Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia) was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Cvitkovic earned First Team All-AAC honors as a true freshman during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. She led USF in kills (214) and ranked third in the American in kills/set (3.69).
Head coach Jolene Shepardson will be at the helm of the Bulls for her second season after guiding a young roster to a 6-8 (3-5 AAC) record last season.
Defending champion UCF was voted by the coaches to finish first in the 2021 poll with 100 total points and 10 of the 11 first-place votes. Houston received the other first-place vote and tallied 80 total points to finish second. SMU (66 points), Tulane (64), Cincinnati (61) and Temple (58) each finished ahead of USF which garnered 34 total points. Wichita State (33), Tulsa (24), ECU and Memphis (18) rounded out the poll.
The Bulls split their two-game series with Tulane and Temple last season, and took Cincinnati to five sets twice in a pair of setbacks.
USF returns 12 players from last year's roster, including six starters, and has added seven new Bulls to the 2021 squad.
Makayla Washington (Tallahassee) ranked second on the team behind Cvitkovic with 159 kills last season. Setter Maria Idjilov (Chisinau, Moldova) tallied 481 assists and ranked seventh in the AAC in assists/set (8.29).
Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) had a team-best 55 blocks last season while Jac St. Cin (St. Petersburg, Fla.) recorded 25 blocks at the net. In the back row, libero CC Clausen (Woodlands, Texas) ranked fourth in the AAC with 247 digs and enters the new year ranked eighth all-time in program history for digs (1,222). Alexis Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) was third on the team with 188 digs last season.
The Bulls open the 2021 campaign on Friday, August 27 against Rutgers in Fort Myers, Fla. USF's first home match is slated for Friday, September 3 against Miami. The Bulls' conference slate also begins at home on Friday, September 24 against Cincinnati.
All home matches will be played at The Corral on the campus of USF in Tampa. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls or by visiting www.usfbullstix.com.
All home games during the 2021 season will also be streamed on ESPN+. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
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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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.Â
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