TAMPA -- At 6-8, the Bulls currently find themselves in a three-way tie for seventh in the conference, with the top eight teams advancing to the post season. USF had a chance to punch its ticket on Friday night with a win in Connecticut, but the Bulls were instead handed their eighth road loss of the year as the Huskies took it in four sets.
In other words, it all comes down to Sunday.
The Bulls fate will be decided on the final day of the regular season and, luckily, their fate is in their own hands. USF needs a win over Georgetown on Sunday to clinch a spot in the post season. A Pittsburgh loss would also serve to punch the Bulls ticket.
USF did not qualify for the tournament last year, a season in which they finished 8-8 in the conference. The Bulls ended in a tie with Pittsburgh for eighth place, but a four-set loss to the Panthers in the regular-season finale edged the Bulls out of contention.
Theoretically, the Bulls can handle Georgetown. The Hoyas sit in dead last in the Big East standings at just 1-13. They lost 14 straight matches before, at long last, they completed a sweep of DePaul on October 21st. The Hoyas have gone on to lose five straight matches since.
In fact, USF has already defeated Georgetown once this year. The Bulls beat the Hoyas at the Corral on October 14th.
So why a cause for concern?
If you look closely, the Bulls did beat the Hoyas this year – but barely. The victory came in five sets. In fact, the two sets that favored Georgetown were not particularly close, with wins of 25-17 in set two, and 25-18 in set four.
On the other hand, USF has never lost to Georgetown in 11 meetings.
The Bulls can control their own destiny with a win on Sunday.
Game time is set for 2 p.m.
