Box Score FORT MYERS, Fla., September 20, 2024 – The University of South Florida women's volleyball team (4-6) fell to the No. 24 Dayton Flyers (8-1) on Friday afternoon for day two of the FGCU Homewood Suites Tournament.  
 
The Bulls lost with scores of 22-25, 21-25, 26-24, 19-25.
 
For the fourth straight match, Maria Clara Andrade (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Ally Cavanaugh (Jacksonville Beach) finished with double-digit kills. Andrade led with 19 kills today, while Cavanaugh and Naiya Sawtelle (Stuart) had 11. Cavanaugh served two aces today, the first two in her career. Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) dished 43 assists and four service aces. Her four aces are the most by a Bull in a single match this season. Tizi Puljiz (Resistencia, Argentina), Lauren Lewis (Tarpon Springs), and Sawtelle had a solo block. For Lewis, it was the first in her career.
 
South Florida and Dayton started the match with a back-and-forth battle. The opening set included 11 ties. With the Flyers holding a 22-19 lead, the Bulls scored twice after their final timeout to come within one. South Florida would score one more time before Dayton closed out the set.
 
The Flyers took the early 12-7 lead over the Bulls, led by a 6-1 run. South Florida fought back to within two after a 5-1 run, but Dayton took the second set.
 
The battle continued in the third set between the Bulls and Flyers, the squads tying 18 times. Dayton held the 23-22 lead, two points from sweeping South Florida. The Bulls finished the set with a 4-1 run, led by Andrade who had three kills.
 
South Florida took the early 11-7 lead, the largest lead by the Bulls on the day. Dayton quickly answered with a 4-0 run to tie the set, but South Florida settled, going on a 5-2 run to take a 16-13 lead. The Flyers closed out the match on a 9-2 run.
 
NOTABLES

• Dykes finished with her third multi-ace performance this season. She set a season-high of four aces, the most by a Bull in 2024.
• With 43 assists, Dykes career total is 3,418. She recorded her fifth double-double this season.
• With solo blocks from Sawtelle, Puljiz, and Lewis, the Bulls set a season-high of three solo blocks in a match.
• Andrade and Cavanaugh stretch their double-digit performance streak to four matches.
• Cavanaugh served her first two career service aces.
• Lewis and Cavanaugh led with three total blocks.

 
UP NEXT
The Bulls will close out the FGCU Homewood Suites Tournament with a rematch with the No. 24 Dayton Flyers tomorrow afternoon. The first serve is set for 1 p.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' program to its last conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance as a student-athlete in 2002. Earning the AAC East Division title in 2023, South Florida made a postseason appearance in the NIVC, winning three games and advancing 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.
 
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.