GREENVILLE, N.C., November 10, 2024 – Naiya Sawtelle led the Bulls in the University of South Florida volleyball team's (16-9, 12-2 AAC) five-set thriller against the East Carolina Pirates (16-8, 9-5 AAC) on Sunday afternoon.  
 
The Bulls won with scores of 25-27, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13.
 
With the win, South Florida continues to lead the American Conference. Rice is tied with the Bulls for first place, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker over the Owls. If South Florida and Rice end the regular season in a tie for first place, since the Bulls have the tiebreaker, they will be the No. 1 seed going into the conference tournament. The win would be the first regular season championship for the Bulls since 2002. Last season, the Bulls won the East Division.
 
Naiya Sawtelle led the match with 19 kills for her 11^th straight double-digit kill match. She finished second with 14 digs for her second double-double of the season. Ally Cavanaugh's 18 kills were one away from tying her career high. Maria Clara Andrade stretched her double-digit kill streak to 19 matches with 17 kills.
 
Caroline Dykes dished out 39 assists, while Livia Niu dished out 10. For Niu, it was her first career double-digit assist performance.
 
Five Bulls served an ace with four serving multiple. Tizi Puljiz led with her season-high four service aces. Puljiz also led the Bulls with six block assists.
 
Lia Schneider led with 19 digs for her 11^th straight double-digit dig match. Samiha Foster joined the double-digit digs with 13.
 
South Florida went on a late 5-0 run to take the 25-24 lead after fighting back from a 17-9 deficit. The Pirates closed out the first set on a 3-0 run.
 
The Bulls held the lead throughout the second set, holding the Pirates to a .100 hitting percentage. South Florida closed the set on a 7-2 run.
 
South Florida fought back from a 17-11 deficit with a 5-0 run that included a crucial challenge to bring the Bulls within one point. Another late run bit the Bulls put pressure on the Pirates, but ECU took set three.
 
As a team, South Florida hit .433 and held East Carolina to a .154 to force a fifth set. The fourth set saw five service aces for the Bulls, bringing their match total to 12, two away from matching a season-high.
 
East Carolina jumped out to the early 5-2 lead to force South Florida to use a timeout. The Bulls answered with a 7-2 run, then extended their lead to 14-10. The Pirates went on a late run but the Bulls closed out the set to complete the season sweep over the Pirates.
 
NOTABLES

• The Bulls have sole possession of the top of the American Athletic Conference.
• The Bulls need one more conference win to match last season's win total. 
• Andrade stretched her double-digit kill streak to 19 matches, Sawtelle to 11, and Schneider stretched her double-digit dig streak to 11.
• Sawtelle recorded her second double-double of the season. 
• The Bulls were one ace away from tying a season-high of 14 service aces.
• Niu recorded her first career double-digit assist match.
• Puljiz set a season-high of five service aces.
• As a team, the Bulls led the Pirates in points, kills, aces, assists, and digs.

 
 
UP NEXT
South Florida will close out the regular season with two home matches: Friday against Tulane and Sunday against UAB. On Friday, the Bulls will honor the senior class of Caroline Dykes, Tizi Puljiz, and Naiya Sawtelle before the 5 p.m. match.
 
About USF Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her fifth season at the helm of her alma mater in 2024. Named head coach on Jan. 8, 2020, Shepardson led the Bulls to a conference championship and the program's last NCAA tournament appearance as a student-athlete in 2002. South Florida won the AAC East Division title in 2023, made a postseason appearance in the NIVC, won three matches, and advanced to the Fab Four to mark the longest postseason run in program history. South Florida Volleyball has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won 12 conference titles since its inception in 1972. The Bulls play in The Corral (1,000), located adjacent to the Yuengling Center on the USF campus in Tampa.
 
Be sure to follow USF women's volleyball on social media (X / Instagram / Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.