TAMPA, Fla. (October 1, 2011) – Rutgers University volleyball opened October with a BIG EAST loss – 3-0 (25-19 25-10 25-22) – at the University of South Florida on Saturday afternoon. Three hundred twenty-three people attended the match.

“I thought there were some good things that came out of today,” said head coach CJ Werneke after the match. “We bounced back well after a disastrous second game, showing some resiliency. We had some opportunities in game one and game three, but South Florida was a little too strong today.”

Sophomore Tiffany Regmund (Bryan, Texas) led Rutgers (6-13, 0-3 BIG EAST) with nine kills from the outside hitter position. Sophomore Brittany Bozzini (Saratoga, Calif.), sophomore Sheridan Taylor (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and freshman Sofi Cucuz (Crown Point, Ind.) each recorded seven kills to complement the offensive attack.

Junior Stephanie Zielinski (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) put up 28 assists for the Scarlet Knights.

Each team went on runs to start the match to even the score at 14. However, the Bulls were able to score at critical points to take the opening set, 25-19.

USF (6-9, 2-1 BIG EAST) kept the momentum in the second as RU was never able to recover in a set controlled by the hosts, 25-10. Rutgers did not go down easily in the third set, fending off match point five times before falling 25-22.

The Bulls tied the all-time series at five matches apiece.

The Scarlet Knights will look to snap a six-match losing streak when they return home to the College Ave Gym for a nonconference contest against Fordham on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the match on RVision.