Bulls travel to Tulsa & Wichita State
MATCHUP: USF at Tulsa & Wichita State
SCHEDULE: Friday, Oct. 1 at Tulsa & Sunday, Oct. 3 at Wichita State
FOLLOW: Live Stats at Tulsa I Live Stats at Wichita State
WATCH: ESPN+
TAMPA (September 30, 2021) – The University of South Florida Bulls (6-7, 0-2 AAC) will hit the road for their first conference road matches this season. The Bulls travel to Tulsa (6-5, 1-1 AAC) on Friday, October 1 and conclude their road trip at Wichita State (6-5, 0-2 AAC) on Sunday, October 3.
South Florida opened American play last weekend at home and suffered a pair of hard fought losses. The Bulls fell to Cincinnati in five sets and ECU in four sets after the Pirates thwarted numerous comeback attempts by USF in the weekend finale.
Marta Cvitkovic (Rijeka, Croatia), a unanimous 2021 Preseason All-Conference selection, leads the Bulls and ranks seventh in the AAC in kills/set (3.21). She floored 20 kills for the second time this season last Sunday vs. ECU. True freshmen Amanda DeWitt (Jupiter) ranks second on the team with 91 kills and Tizi Puljiz (Resistencia, Argentina) has floored 89 on the year.
Eke Denessen (Venlo, Netherlands) and Kelsey O'Loughlin (Fort Lauderdale) have split setter duties this season and have each dished out over 175 assists to the offense.
Alexis Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) has recorded 21 service aces (new career high) on the season to lead the team and rank second in the AAC in aces/set (0.45). The Bulls collectively rank third in the conference with 1.68 aces/set.
True freshman Amiree Hendricks-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) has totaled 48 blocks and ranks sixth in the league in blocks/set (1.04). Puljiz (37) an Ally Barnhart (Lenexa, Kan.) with 32 have each contributed to the net defense. USF ranks second in the league in team blocks/set (2.47).
CC Clausen (The Woodlands, Texas) has a team-best 201 digs and sixth in the AAC in digs/set (4.28). The libero enters the weekend with 1,423 career digs and is 18 away from claiming sole possession of third place on the program's all-time leaderboard.
Scouting Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane outlasted Houston in its AAC opener, 3-2, before being swept by Tulane last weekend.
Tulsa has won two straight meetings against USF and three of the last four. This will be the first meeting in Tulsa between the Bulls and Golden Hurricane since October 8, 2017 where USF won in five sets.
Kayley Cassaday leads the offensive attack with 158 kills and her 3.95 kills/set rank second in the conference. Maggie Hembree has a team-best 42 blocks at the net. Tulsa has four players with over 100 digs this year, led by Marta Pecalli (197). Her 4.58 digs/set rank fifth in the AAC.
Scouting Wichita State
The Shockers enter the weekend on a four-match losing streak and will host UCF before the Bulls come to town on Sunday. WSU lost its conference opener to Tulane (3-1) and was swept by Houston on the road last weekend.
USF is seeking its first win over Wichita State in a series that dates back the team's first meeting in 2005. The Bulls have been swept in all five matchups by the Shockers.
Kailin Newsome leads WSU in kills (109) and Brylee Kelly paces the offense in kills/set (2.97). At the net, Lauren McMahon has totaled 23 blocks with four other players registering 20 this season. Lily Liekweg patrols the back row with 198 digs.
Up Next
The Bulls will return home next weekend to open a three-match homestand beginning with Tulane (Oct. 8) and Houston (Oct. 10). USF will then host UCF on Wednesday, October 13 at the Yuengling Center for a War On I-4 showdown.
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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