WHAT: USF Tournament
WHERE: The Corral inside the Sun Dome
USF SCHEDULE: Friday at 6 p.m. against James Madison (5-5); Saturday at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman (0-13); Sunday at 1 p.m. against FIU (2-7)
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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - A simple chat amongst players produced some very good results for the USF volleyball team last weekend.
The Bulls dropped the first match of their St. Louis Tournament experience last Friday with two more matches remaining before USF headed back to Tampa.
"It's kind of one of those things when you really couldn't put your finger on it," head coach Courtney Draper said. "It wasn't as easy as trying to get three players to fix three things. It was some kind of feeling that wasn't quite right."
Draper said the leadership of the team called a players' meeting after the 3-2 loss to Southeast Missouri State.
"We kind of reiterated our goals and why we're here on the same team. We picked it up and came out a little fired up," senior middle blocker Caitlyn Breen said.
USF (4-5) responded with a 3-1 victory over Evansville on Saturday while holding its opponent to a .103 hitting percentage.
"It was really a totally different team on Saturday," Draper said.
The same vibrant USF squad showed back up on Sunday, when the Bulls handed host St. Louis a 3-0 loss with Breen tying a career high with nine blocks.
"We had a really good strategy of who was prioritized. I just stuck with the game plan and they did the rest," Breen said.
Now that a six-match road trip is in the books, the Bulls focus their attention on three more opponents they'll face in a return to the Corral at this weekend's USF Tournament. USF takes on James Madison on Friday at 7 p.m., Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at 7 p.m. and finishes up with FIU on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"We're excited to be back in the Corral with our home fans. I think with our newfound confidence, it's going to be a whole new team for them to watch this weekend," Breen said. "I feel we haven't really shown what we have in the Corral yet. I think it's time to do that."
