GAINESVILLE, Fla., September 6, 2024 – For the first time since 1990, the University of South Florida volleyball team (1-3) defeated the Florida Gators (3-1), taking down the No. 10-ranked team on Friday night on their home court. The victory stands as South Florida's first-ever win in Gainesville and is the highest-ranked opponent the Bulls have ever defeated. 
 
The Bulls won with scores of 15-25, 25-22, 12-25, 25-23, 15-10.
 
Maria Clara Andrade (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Ally Cavanaugh (Jacksonville Beach) led the Bulls with 18 kills each. Imani Hartfield (Sanford) and Jalynn Brown (New Smyrna Beach) followed with 10 kills. Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) dished out 49 assists. Lia Schneider (St. Charles, Ill.) led with 21 digs.
 
Leading the match, 2-1, the Gators built a 12-5 lead in the fourth set before South Florida battled back to take the set and force a fifth game.  The Bulls scored five straight points before the teams went back and forth and USF took the lead for good at 21-20.
 
In the fifth and final set, the Bulls took an 8-6 lead over the Gators into the media timeout. South Florida kept their momentum, upsetting the No. 10 Gators in five sets.
 
After dropping the first set and the second set deadlocked at 10-10, South Florida went on a 7-3 for the turning point in the match. Florida cut USF's lead to two, 24-22, before a Gator serving error gave the Bulls a 25-22 set win.
 
South Florida battled back to force a fifth set with Florida for the second year in a row. 

WORDS FROM COACH SHEPARDSON
"First of all, I'm proud of them for being incredibly brave. We didn't start off very good. They put some pressure on us, but we talked about how we can create some pressure. They had it in their eyes and they went out and executed. This is a game of momentum and we can shift and create that pressure."
 
NOTABLES

• This is the first win over Florida since 1990.
• This is the highest-ranked win and the first win over Florida in Gainesville in program history.
• The last top-20 win was over No. 17 Louisville in 1996.  
• South Florida battled back to force a fifth set with Florida for the second year in a row
• Brown set a career-high 10 kills.
• Four Bulls finished with double-digit kills.