Box Score
PROVO, Utah – Playing their fourth consecutive conference road match, the San Francisco Dons were unable to overcome a potent No. 16 BYU attack, falling 3-1 on Saturday night.
The Dons (12-8, 3-4 WCC) dropped the first two sets before winning the third 25-20 and falling in the fourth, 25-21. The Cougars (18-1, 6-1 WCC) used four double-digit kill efforts en route to their 18th win in 19 games.
USF's powerful trio of
Ester de Vries,
Valentina Zaloznik and
Jocelyn Levig posted 16, 11 and 11 kills, respectively, but it would've prove enough, as the Dons committed 29 errors on the evening. De Vries added nine digs to fall just short of a double-double. The 16th-ranked Cougars, led by WCC hitting percentage leader Nicole Warner, hit .276 on the night and .342 in the fourth and final set.
After dropping the first two sets 18-25 and 14-25, the Dons showed great resolve, avoiding a sweep with a five-point victory in the third.
Ester de Vries' kill on an assist from
Leanna Ludes opened scoring and the Dons would hold the upper hand for the rest of the set. The Cougars tied the score five times, but the Dons would never relinquish the lead, eventually closing out the frame with a 3-0 run.
Libero
Rebecca Kopilovitch added 21 digs in the Dons' 20th match and now has 342 on the season. Kopilovitch recorded her second straight match with 20-or-more digs and is averaging a gaudy 4.62 digs per set. Entering play, the redshirt sophomore from Israel ranked second in the West Coast Conference with a 4.59 average.
After its longest road trip of the season, San Francisco will return home to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym for an October 18 Dig Pink matchup against rival San Diego at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the WCC's PINK initiative and to support the fight against breast cancer, visit
https://www.side-out.org/cb/ous/fundraising_page/2586.
