TAMPA, Fla., February 26, 2026 – Fresh off a milestone weekend, USF's beach volleyball team returns to action with momentum and confidence at an all-time high. South Florida enters the weekend 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Conference USA play after a statement victory over No.20 Tulane last weekend during their season opener weekend in New Orleans.  
 
Setting the Stage
The Bulls will travel to Tallahassee to face three opponents across two days in the Seminole Beach Bash tournament, hosted by Florida State University. South Florida will open play on Friday against Florida Gulf Coast and the University of Tampa before wrapping up the weekend facing No.7 TCU on Saturday. South Florida will compete in pool play against FGCU, Tampa, and TCU this weekend. Based on results, the Bulls may play up to two additional matches against opponents from the opposing pool featuring No.6 Florida State, No.16 North Florida, No.14 Florida Atlantic, and UNC Wilmington, with matchups determined by overall standings.
 
Opponents
South Florida enters a competitive early-season stretch highlighted by three competitive opponents. TCU (3-1) owns a ranked win over No.13 Grand Canyon University, with its only loss coming to No. 11 Arizona State. The University of Tampa is off to a 4-0 start with wins over Mercer, Barry, and Saint Leo. Meanwhile, FGCU sits at 2-2, defeating the University of South Carolina and Jacksonville University, but fell to No.14 Stetson. 
 
Match Format
Each dual features five pairs competing simultaneously. USF's Pair 1 faces the opponent's Pair 1, Pair 2 vs. Pair 2, and so on through Pair 5. Each pair plays a match, and the team that wins at least three of the five pair match ups earns the program win.
 

Weekend Schedule
 
Friday, Feb. 27
vs. FGCU– 9:00 a.m. 
vs. Tampa– 1:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, Feb. 28
vs. No. 7 TCU– 8:30 a.m. 
vs. TBD (Based on Pool Play) 

 
Note-A-Bulls:
• Pair of the Week– Julia Panko and Cornelia Crudu were recently named conference USA Pair of the Week following an undefeated 4-0 performance during the Bulls' inaugural weekend at the Green Wave Invitational. 
• Strong Start–The Bulls are off to a hot start posting a 3-1 record in the program's opening weekend, including a victory over No.20 Tulane. 
• Coaching Debut Win– Pri-Piantadosi-Lima secured a win in her head coaching debut against New Orleans, 4-1.
 

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About USF Beach Volleyball
The University of South Florida Beach Volleyball program is the newest program in the now 21-team USF Athletics program. South Florida Beach Volleyball joined Conference USA on July 1, 2025. Pri Piantadosi-Lima was named South Florida's first-ever beach volleyball head coach on June 6, 2023. She also serves as the head coach of USAV Beach and the national team development program and was honored as the 2022 USA Volleyball Female Junior Coach of the Year. Before joining South Florida, Piantadosi-Lima helped launch the Eckerd College program in 2015 as an assistant coach and helped lead the program to its first AVCA national championship and two consecutive NCAA championship podium finishes.


– #GoBulls –