Bulls' Volleyball Fall Short Against No. 20 Kansas State
Portland, Ore. - - Although the University of South Florida volleyball team fought hard, they could not overcome the No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats as they fell 13-25, 25-23, 18-25, 18-25.
"When we play consistently, I think we can play with anybody," said USF head coach Claire Lessinger. "When we break down with our first ball contact is when these type of teams can jump on us. Overall, I was pleased that we could fight with a team of this caliber. This match gives us a lot of hope for what we are capable of."
In the first match against a nationally-ranked opponent this season, Marcela Gurgel led the Bulls in kills once again with a match-high and season-high 21 and recorded her second double-double of the year with 12 digs.
True freshman Alli O'Connor entered the match midway through the first set and became a spark plug for the squad. The outside hitter from Louisville, Ky. connected on a career-high nine kills to help out the Bulls' offense to go along with eight digs.
"She came in and played fearless," said Lessinger. "The look in her eye showed that she belonged out there and then she executed. She did everything we asked her to do and now our depth chart just grew."
Sophomore setter Mariana Thon notched her fourth career double-double and first of the season after a solid performance that included 40 assists and 13 digs.
"Mariana was running the floor so well," said Lessinger. "She was creating good match-ups for our attackers and was very stable so we had to leave her out there. She gave us the best opportunity to compete with Kansas State."
Stephanie Augustavo, the Bulls' libero, also chimed in as one of three on the team in double-digit digs with 11.
After trailing 5-2, the Bulls went on a 3-0 run early in the first set to knot up the score at five but could not pull any closer. KSU went on to take the set by a 25-13 score.
In the second set, KSU jumped out to another quick lead by six at 14-8, but the Bulls fought back hard. Following three Gurgel kills, one from the right side and two from the back row, along with a kill and block by Arbogast, USF went on a 6-0 run to even the count.
Tied at 19-all in the second, Williams ripped a cross court slide play kill to re-gain the Bulls lead that they would not relinquish. Coach Lessinger called timeout with her squad up by the slimmest of margins 24-23 to get the offensive attack in order, and the team went out an executed with a Gurgel kill behind the 10-foot line to close out the set 25-23.
During the second set, the Bulls' defense held the Wildcats to a .075 attack percentage while the green and gold put together a .324 mark.
KSU kicked off the third set by firing on all cylinders. At the 13-7 mark in favor of the purple and grey, the Wildcats were hitting .750 off of nine kills on 12 attempts. Successive kills by USF's Allie Boaz and Williams would bring the Bulls within four, but couldn't close the gap as the Big XII representatives went on to take the set at 25-18.
USF hopped out in the fourth up 8-5 and the teams continued to trade points through the midway point of the set when the Bulls led 13-11. The Wildcats slowly began pulling away after a 4-0 run at 14-14 gave them a four point lead. Later in the set, USF's hope for the upset came to a close after an ace by KSU's Jenny Jantsch.
USF will look to end the weekend at the Portland Nike Invitational on a winning note as it faces the host Portland Pilots later tonight at 10 p.m. eastern. The match will be broadcast with an audio feed through Press Pass.
SAINT LEO
LIONS VOLLEYBALL STAYS UNDEFEATED WITH SATURDAY SWEEP
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saint Leo University volleyball team continued their undefeated season as they concluded their sweep through the Florida Tech Invitational on Saturday as they defeated Valdosta State 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-13, 25-17) and St. Thomas University 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-10) to improve to 8-0 so far.
Junior middle-hitter Jenna Jordan (Plant City, Fla.) let the attack as she combined for 20 kills on the day, averaging 2.86 kills per game. Sophomore Kaitlin McKenna (Farmington Hills, Mich.) held the day's crown for hitting percentage as she hit .423 in the two matches and junior setter Michelle Nogueras (Cayey, P.R.) added 11 kills to her 49 set-assists and 12 digs.
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