USF volleyball, the family that plays together, has bonded through adversity and change in the past year — responding to a new coach, weathering an uncertain offseason, learning about each other during a shortened spring and accelerating to normalcy, beginning with Friday afternoon's opening match against Rutgers University in Fort Myers.
"We care about each other,'' Bulls redshirt freshman outside hitter Makayla Washington said.
"It's very much like a family environment here,'' Bulls sophomore outside hitter Jac St. Cin said.
That might sound like a worn-out cliche. But with the Bulls, it's real.