Volleyball team welcomes ‘Noles
The Seminoles are coming to town today for a late season non-conference match at the Corral.
The USF Volleyball team is looking to rebound from its three-match losing streak when it faces FSU. USF (6-15, 3-6 C-USA) looks to use the non-conference tune-up to prepare for a double dose of conference play this weekend.
The Bulls return home for the next three matches. USF has played better at home than on the road this season; the Bulls have lost 12 straight on the road, dating back to their match against Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 10. USF has fared better in the Corral, claiming four of their six wins at home. USF plays two of its final four conference matches at home.
The Bulls have to go through FSU first.
“FSU is one of those teams who are big and physical,” Head Coach Claire Lessinger said. “FSU is a highly respected program.”
FSU (14-9, 6-6 ACC) enters today’s match after defeating conference foe Georgia Tech.
Junior Kristen Rust leads the Seminoles with 3.94 kills per game.
At Monday’s practice, the Bulls hashed out some sore spots that have haunted them over the past three games.
“We worked on our serve receive, something we had trouble with versus TCU,” Lessinger said.
Although the Bulls have had strong offensive performances from their key players, they haven’t had a collective team effort.
“There is not one person who needs to step up for us to win,” Lessinger said.
She hopes to have an all-out team performance when they face the Noles.
“We all need to step up,” Lessinger said. “For us to be able to bring our best game every night is a challenge. We need to fire on all six cylinders to come out with a W.”
The Bulls had won three straight matches against Florida State but lost last season’s match 3-0. FSU leads the overall series 35-7. From 1972-1989, USF had only won one match against FSU, which came in 1976.