TAMPA, Fla., November 15, 2024 – The University of South Florida volleyball team (17-9, 13-2 AAC) is one win away from capturing the 2024 American Athletic Conference regular season title after a sweep over the Tulane Green Wave (14-13, 6-9 AAC) on Friday night.
 
The Bulls won with scores of 25-15, 25-17, 25-15.
 
The last regular season title South Florida won was in 2002 when head coach Jolene Shepardson was on the team. If the Bulls win the title, they will go into the AAC Tournament as the No. 1 Seed.  
 
Before the match, the Bulls honored their senior class of Tizi Puljiz, Caroline Dykes, Naiya Sawtelle, and student manager Adely Ode.
 
South Florida set a Corral record attendance of 978, the second time they have set a record attendance this season. When South Florida welcomed NC State in September, they had a record attendance of 976.
 
Maria Clara Andrade now has a double-digit kill streak of 20 matches after leading the team with 18 tonight. She finished the match with a .500 hitting percentage. Sawtelle stretched her double-digit kill streak to 12 matches. Sawtelle surpassed the 1,500-kill mark in her career.
 
Dykes finished with 30 assists, bringing her career total to 4,078. Lia Schneider matched a career-high on nine assists.
 
Puljiz and Sawtelle led South Florida with two blocks. Sawtelle had the lobe solo block for the Bulls.
 
Samiha Foster led South Florida with nine digs. Seven Bulls registered at least one dig. Puljiz and Dykes led the way behind the service line with four aces each. For Puljiz, it tied her career high.
 
South Florida coasted to an opening set win, holding the Green Wave to a negative hitting percentage while hitting a .207.
 
Tulane had its first and only lead of the match early in the second set, but South Florida quickly regained the lead. The Bulls closed the second set with a 3-1 run.
 
The final set belonged to the Bulls as they took the commanding 19-9 lead. A late run by the Green Wave kept the set going, but the Bulls completed the sweep with a 25-15 set win.
 
NOTABLES

• The Bulls need one more win to capture the 2024 AAC regular season title.
• South Florida set a Corral record attendance of 978.   
• Andrade stretched her double-digit kill streak to 20 matches, while Sawtelle stretched hers to 12.
• Puljiz matched her career-high of four service aces.  
• As a team, the Bulls finished with a .365 hitting percentage, the second-highest in conference play.

 
UP NEXT
South Florida will look to claim the 2024 AAC regular season title on Sunday as they welcome the UAB Blazers. The first serve for the final regular season match is set for 11 a.m.
 
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.