South Florida Captures 3-0 Victory over FSU

Michelle Collier

The University of South Florida volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night with a commanding 3-0 victory over Florida State at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida. USF will face the winner of the tonight’s 7 p.m. game between Florida and UCF.




GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of South Florida volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night with a commanding 3-0 victory over Florida State at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida. USF will face the winner of the tonight’s 7 p.m. game between Florida and UCF.



The win gives the Bulls their 30th victory of the year, only the second time in the history of the program a team has notched 30 wins in a season. It also finalizes FSU’s record at 21-13 for the year.



Tomorrow night’s second-round game could be a complete déjà vu of the 1997 season, when USF defeated Florida State, 3-2, in the first round, putting them up against Florida in the second round, where they fell, 3-0.



“We played a solid match tonight,” head coach Nancy Mueller said. “We were able to keep Florida State to a .071 hitting percentage. That is very good blocking by us against a good team. For us to have 12 blocks for the game is some of the best we’ve had all year long. I think we played very steady and were able to maintain a high level of play.”



USF used consistent play during the first game to stay ahead of the Seminoles, countering a FSU point with two of their own on most occasions, but with the Bulls up only two, 18-16, USF staged a 12-5 run to finish out the game with a nine-point victory, 30-21. Senior Jolene Patton was the most consistent Bull in the game, with five kills and a .444 hitting percentage. USF also out-blocked FSU, four to zero in the game, led by sophomore Shameka Mitchell with three block assists.



The Bulls dominated a bit more in the second game. After allowing FSU to take a 4-3 lead, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run, spurred by strong serving from senior Michelle Collier, for a 10-4 lead. After allowing the Noles to creep their way back in the game a bit, USF again went on a seven-point run, and, again, Collier served all seven points, including three service aces. The Bulls led by as many as 10 on five different occasions late in the game, and a game-point ace by sophomore Rachel Jobes gave USF a 30-19 victory. In addition to her three aces in the game, Collier also led all players with six kills.



USF took a five-point lead on the Seminoles, 10-5, to start off the third game, but FSU slowly chipped away at the lead until the Bulls found themselves on the other end of the score, down two, 16-14. A four-point run, though, put USF back on top, 18-16, and the Bulls never lost the lead, despite solid runs by FSU, and finished the match out with a 30-28 victory.



The Bulls were solid on both the defensive and offensive ends tonight, as they hit .263, while holding FSU to a .071 hitting percentage, in large part due to 12 team blocks to the Seminoles eight. Collier led USF in the hitting department with18 kills off .306 hitting, while adding fives service aces, and freshman Corinne Walsh led the team in blocking with five block assists and a block solo.



Patton had a consistent night as well, going 10-for-19 with only three errors for a .306 hitting percentage, and sophomore Shameka Mitchell tallied seven kills off a .385 effort.



Senior setter Ale Domingos led all players with 37 assists and also added eight digs