The Georgetown volleyball team (14-10, 6-5 Big East) will look to run their win streak to five this weekend when they travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on South Florida (9-14, 5-5 Big East).

“I’m really proud of our team. They displayed a lot of fight and played low-error volleyball,” Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. “It was an amazing, absolutely amazing weekend.”

Last weekend’s road sweep of Seton Hall and Rutgers catapulted the Blue and Gray into seventh place in the Big East standings, tentatively placing them in the field of eight teams that will compete at the Big East tournament.

The Hoyas are riding a four-game win streak and the Bulls come into the match losers of three straight. However, they still sit in ninth, only a half-game behind Georgetown in the standings. That and the fact that Georgetown’s final two games are against the second- and third-ranked teams in the conference in Louisville and Cincinnati, respectively, makes Sunday’s game critical for both teams’ Big East Tournament hopes.

USF ranks near the bottom of the league in most offensive statistics but has been a very strong blocking and serving team thus far. The Bulls rank second in the league in blocks per set with 2.55 and fourth in service aces per set with 1.46.

“[South Florida] has talent on their roster and they are well coached. Their gym is loud, and their fans are right on top of you,” Williams said. “We are going to have to fight tooth and nail and there are still no guarantees,” she added.

Belgian-born freshman outside hitter Valerie El Houssine has led the Bulls offensively with an astounding 295 kills, and her 3.51 kill-per-set average is good for fifth in the conference and the highest of any freshman.

South Florida has also received steady offensive production from two other outside hitters in sophomore Kayla Walton and junior J’Beria Davis. Defensively, the Bulls are carried by senior libero Janice Rivera and sophomore middle blocker Andrea Rodriguez Gomez. Rivera has totaled 330 digs on the year, while Rodriguez Gomez leads the team with an impressive 1.35 blocks per set, second in the conference.

However, as Coach Williams has stressed all year, the Hoyas will not worry too much about their opposition but rather will focus their energy on playing low-error volleyball and capitalizing on offensive opportunities.

“We have looked at their tendencies and will work on defending them, but we are going to play Hoya volleyball – passionate, purposeful, gritty, leave-it-all-out-there volleyball,” she said.

And although the Bulls bring a solid team defense to the table, the Blue and Gray are certainly equipped with the offensive weapons to counter it. While South Florida has El Houssine, Georgetown has two talented freshmen of its own in outside hitter Alex Johnson and middle blocker Dani White. Johnson leads the team with 281 kills, while White is tied for the team lead in blocks with 54 and has also posted the conference’s fifth-best hitting percentage with .311.

To aid their offensive efforts, the Hoyas also boast steady senior leaders in captain and libero ToryRezin and setter Ashley Malone. Rezin has posted 356 digs on the year, while Malone has added 263 to go along with an impressive 10.06 assists per set, good for seventh in the conference.

The Hoyas will look to be on top of their game in the crucial match, which is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the USF Recreational Center, and Williams has faith in her team going into it.

“I am confident in this team and in this team’s talent, focus and desire to do great things,” she said. “Every day they come to work and improve, and I don’t expect anything different.”