University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco volleyball team roared out of the gates early against No. 10 California, but the Bears wore the Dons down as the match continued to claim a 21-25, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-13 win on Friday night at War Memorial Gym.

USF freshman setter/hitter Joan Caloiaro posted her first career triple-double, totaling 30 assists, 14 kills and 13 digs. She led the Dons in each of those three categories in addition to notching two blocks, which tied a team-high. Caloiaro hit .467 for the match. The Saratoga, Calif. native totaled five double-doubles in her first nine matches going into the Friday night's contest against Cal.

"Joan played with amazing confidence and energy," USF head coach Gilad Doron said. "When she plays with the will to win she can take the whole team with her."

The Dons took the first set, making it the first set the Bears have lost all season after having won 24 consecutive sets going into Friday night's match. The win marked the first set USF has won against Cal since 2002. The Dons have only won 12 total sets in their 36-match history against the Bears.

USF hit .297 in the first set, compared to Cal's clip of.190, and led by as many as six points. Malina Terrell notched five kills in that set with Alycia Cox and Erin Kilroy adding four a piece.

"We really came out focused with great energy," Doron said. "I think Cal got caught unprepared to play aggressively and to make the right decisions at the beginning of the match."

USF led 7-6 in second set, but Cal went on a 5-0 run and kept a safe lead throughout the remainder of the set. With the game tied at 3-3 in the third set, the Bears went on a 6-1 run to take control. The Dons soon responded with a 4-0 run of their own to pull to within 12-10, but couldn't cut any further into the lead.

San Francisco hit negative .054 in the final set and committed 10 hitting errors and two serving errors as Cal surged ahead to take the set and the match.

"After the first set, Cal made some adjustments in their play and it started to show — and not in our favor," Doron said. "Our passing faded toward the end of the match and we couldn't use our middle [blockers] as much as we wanted."

Cal finished the match hitting .349 compared to USF at .137.

Kilroy tallied a season-high 12 kills with two blocks. The sophomore opposite side hitter, attacked at a clip of .429 in first set and .333 in second set. Kilroy missed the Dons' past six matches due to injury.

The Dons take the court again at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18^th against the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal at War Memorial Gym.