Louisville, Ky. - The 2009 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship opened in upset fashion as the No. 6 seeded USF Bulls downed the No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22). All-BIG EAST First Team selection Marcela Gurgel led the USF offense with 18 kills to go along with 11 digs. Teammate Pamela Luiz also came up big for the Bulls, tallying 18 kills and three blocks. Pittsburgh junior Amy Town had 18 points to lead the Panthers.

The two teams traded points throughout the first set, but USF maintained at least a one point lead up until Pitt tied the game at 12. Pittsburgh was the first team to reach 15 points and looked to be in control with a 23-18 lead. The Bulls battled back however, getting a kill from junior Allie Boaz and two Pittsburgh errors to bring the score to 23-21. A kill by Pitt's Town brought the Panthers to set point, but five straight errors were too much for Pittsburgh to overcome as the set went to USF, 26-24.

In the second set, the teams continued to trade points until back-to-back kills by Panthers senior Melissa Stadelman and sophomore Rachel Kalberer gave Pitt a 10-8 advantage. For the second straight set, Pittsburgh was the first to 15 points on junior Imani Harper's eighth kill of the game. Out of the media timeout, USF picked up four consecutive points to tie the game at 15, but Pitt rallied, going on a 7-2 run to take a 22-17 lead. USF recorded three straight points to get back in the set, but two kills by Pitt senior Meagan Dooley and a block by Harper gave the set to the Panthers, 25-22.

With the score tied at seven in the third set, USF looked as though they might pull away going on a 6-3 run and reached 15 points before the Panthers for the first time in the match. USF trailed only once in the set (at the 1-0 mark), but Pitt rallied late to tie the score at 21. The Bulls responded however with a block and kill from senior Alli Arbogast and kept the pressure on, taking the set for a 2-1 lead after a Pitt service error.

The fourth set was highly contested throughout as Pitt took an early lead and kept it till the 15-15 mark. The teams kept exchanging points until a block by USF senior Jarka Havlickova put the Bulls in the driver's seat at 19-18. USF never looked back, going on a 6-4 run highlighted by a kill from Luiz that tallied the 25th point and the upset victory for the Bulls.

USF will await the winner of the Cincinnati-Connecticut matchup with begins today at 12:40 p.m. ET. The semifinal match begins tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.