After beating Georgetown in dramatic fashion after trailing by two sets, the USF volleyball team will finish its stretch of five straight road matches this weekend.
The Bulls (9-9, 5-2) are preparing to face the top two teams in the Big East, as they oppose No. 23 Cincinnati (18-4, 6-1) on Saturday and Louisville (11-5, 6-1) on Sunday.
Louisville and Cincinnati are tied for first place in the conference.
Coach Claire Lessinger said one of the team’s objectives is to become a feisty team by “keeping balls scraping, going for balls and try to frustrate (opponents) in some capacity by keeping the ball alive and winning long rallies,” she said.
Cincinnati is third in the conference in kills and assists, while Louisville leads in blocks and opponent hitting percentage.
Lessinger has stressed to her team the importance of containing Bearcats’ senior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer, who leads the conference in kills with 5.42 per set.
“If we can keep her from taking the match into her own hands, because she has the ability to do that, and force them to get other players involved,” Lessinger said.
Senior outside hitter Allie Boaz was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week after she collected 21 kills along with a .486 hitting percentage in the win against Georgetown.
Both teams are coming off a win, with USF defeating Georgetown in five sets and Louisville upsetting Cincinnati in five sets.
