The University of South Florida volleyball team (10-7, 6-0 AAC) continues its historic run with a five-set thrilling win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (12-6, 4-2 AAC) on Sunday afternoon.
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The Bulls won with scores of 25-19, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12.
With the win, the Bulls continue to share the top spot in the American Athletic Conference with the Rice Owls. South Florida and Rice will battle for the lone spot atop the AAC on Wednesday when the Owls come to Tampa. The 6-0 start is the Bulls’ best conference start since 2002, when they started Conference USA 12-0.
Maria Clara Andrade led the Bulls with 24 kills, four away from tying her career-high. She highlighted her 24 kills with 15 digs and four total blocks. Andrade now has a double-digit kill streak of 11 straight matches. Ally Cavanaugh and Naiya Sawtelle joined Andrade with double-digit kills. Cavanaugh had 12, while Sawtelle finished with 11. Sawtelle has now had 10+ kills in four straight matches.
Caroline Dykes was two assists away from tying her career-high of 60 assists. She finished the match with 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Dykes led the Bulls with two service aces.
Three Bulls recorded double-digit digs. Lia Schneider led the way with 20, while Andrade and Dykes followed. At the net, Tizi Puljiz led the way with five block assists. Imani Hartfield, Andrade, and Cavanaugh followed with four.
South Florida and Tulsa battled throughout the opening set, tying nine times. The Bulls went on a 6-0 run to grow their lead to 18-14. The Golden Hurricane closed South Florida’s lead to one, but the Bulls closed the set with a 5-0 run.
Tulsa took control of the second set, holding the Bulls to a .061 hitting percentage and tying the match at one set apiece.
The third set was identical to the first, with both teams trading points. Tulsa held the one-point lead going into the media timeout, but South Florida came out and scored six straight points to take the lead and force a Tulsa timeout. The Bulls went on to take set three and a 2-1 lead in the match.
With South Florida holding a 2-1 set lead in the match, Tulsa continued to fight. The Bulls had a one-point deficit but went on a 6-1 run to take the 16-12 lead. Tulsa fought its way back to force a fifth set.
South Florida took the early 5-2 lead to force Tulsa to take a timeout. After two successful challenges by the Bulls, they held the 10-5 lead to force the Golden Hurricane’s second timeout. Tulsa closed the gap to one point, but South Florida took the match to improve to 6-0 in conference play.
NOTABLES
- Andrade stretches her double-digit kill streak to 11 matches.
- Andrade and Dykes recorded a double-double in the match.
- Schneider led with 20 digs for her fourth 20+ dig performance.
- Dykes and Andrade served at least one ace, with Dykes leading with two.
- The Bulls are now 6-0 in conference action, the best start since 2002 when the Bulls started C-USA 12-0.
UP NEXT
South Florida will return home and welcome the Rice Owls on Wednesday, October 16 for a battle for sole possession of the top-place spot in the conference. The first serve is set for 6 p.m. inside The Corral. Tickets can be purchased here.
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.
