TAMPA, Fla. (December 4, 2025) – She's destined to be remembered as not only one of the best volleyball players in USF history, but one of the school's most distinguished athletes — period.
 
Bulls standout outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade had transfer-portal options heading into her senior season. Perhaps atypically, she felt loyalty toward the program that nurtured her and helped build her into a big-time player.
 
And now Andrade gets the ultimate reward.
 
"I couldn't imagine all of this working out any better,'' said Andrade, who will soon graduate with a degree in business management.
 
After being recognized again as the American Conference Player of the Year — a back-to-back honor that happened only once before in USF volleyball history — Andrade's final chapter will occur on the sport's biggest stage.
 
The Bulls (17-12) were selected for the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, marking the program's first bid since 2002, when head coach Jolene Shepardson was a USF player. USF has a rigorous road, facing a first-rounder against the defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions (18-12) on Friday at Austin, Texas.
 
The USF-Penn State winner draws the winner of home-standing Texas and Florida A&M in the second round.
 
Penn State has made the NCAA field for the 45th consecutive season — that's all of them, dating to the 1981 tournament debut — and it has eight national titles. Penn State is 26-0 all-time in the NCAA's opening round, going 78-3 in sets played.
 
"We are not going to be scared or intimidated,'' said Andrade, a native of Brazil who played for her home country's U23 National Team last summer and has designs on a professional volleyball career. "We will go out there and play with great joy.''
 
Joyful volleyball is Andrade's trademark. She's an aggressive, emotional player, a versatile high-flying talent who contributes in every area, not just with spectacular kills. She has literally grown up at USF, maturing from raw skills to a refined game. She arrived speaking not a word of English — she needed an interpreter while meeting with Shepardson — and had moments of calling home in tears, asking her mother if she could return to Brazil.
 
"God makes us go through difficult things, but they are necessary because it helps us become the people we are today,'' Andrade said.
 
Andrade leaned on her faith last year after the sudden death of her older brother, Mauricio. As part of Brazilian custom, the funeral was held immediately. She couldn't get home and watched it online, grappling with that absence from her family.
 
"Maria is a very strong person who has been shaped by her experiences, on and off the court,'' Shepardson said. "I've seen the vulnerable side. I've seen struggles. But I have also seen maturity. Having Maria here through all of those changes, it has absolutely been an incredible and rewarding experience. She is bonded to our program forever.''
 
After a sterling junior season — and her first conference Player of the Year award — Andrade toyed with the idea of looking elsewhere as a senior. Shepardson said that would have been the expected route.
 
"I mean, she could have stood up and said, 'Thank you for your time,' or 'You don't have enough money for me,' '' Shepardson said. "Going into the portal is so easy. Sometimes, people don't even hesitate.
 
"But Maria remained committed to us. I think it speaks to who she is as a person and her values.''
 
Andrade, who didn't favor leaving USF, said she was convinced after speaking with her father. His words were simple.
 
Maria, this is about honor.
 
"My father is right,'' Andrade said. "USF is my home. I didn't think I should wear another team's jersey. I wanted to bring honor to my USF jersey and stay in the place where I belonged.
 
"Jo (Shepardson) believed in me. I wanted to keep growing. I felt I could keep getting better. For me, it's never enough. And I feel I have gotten a lot better. Now we have the moment we've been dreaming of.''
 
Sunday night was nerve-wracking at the Selmon Athletic Center, when USF players watched the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show. The Bulls played a rigorous schedule — the RPI of 40 was a major positive — but they fell short in the American Conference Tournament semifinals. It seemed like a coin flip.
 
When "South Florida'' flashed on the bracket, the room erupted in jubilation.
 
"My eyes filled with water and my heart was beating so fast,'' Andrade said. "I got chills. It was a moment I will never forget, a great moment in my life.''
 
Friday, Andrade will live out the final chapter of her USF career. As one of the nation's most-decorated players, she will lead her Bulls into the NCAA Tournament. It's what she hoped for and now her dream is playing out in real time. One day, it wouldn't be surprising if her No. 16 is retired and hanging on the Corral's wall. She has no regrets.
 
It's about honor.
 
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About USF Volleyball
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her sixth season at the helm of her alma mater in 2025. Named head coach on January 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 2024 AAC regular-season title, earning Jolene Shepardson her first Coach of the Year Honor. In 2023, the Bulls won the AAC East Division title, 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 won eight Player of the Year honors, most recently in Maria Clara Andrade in 2024. The Bulls have also had four Setter of the Year honors, most recently in Caroline Dykes in 2024. South Florida has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won 13 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.