Box Score SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Reminiscent of the five-set heartbreaker in San Francisco exactly one week ago, the Dons volleyball team was narrowly defeated by Santa Clara on Thursday night.
Offensively, the Dons were led by a combined 36 kills between the duo of
Jocelyn Levig and
Valentina Zaloznik, that included a match-high 21 kills for Levig on a .306 hitting percentage. Setter
Leanna Ludes finished with 45 assists on the night and Zaloznik recorded three service aces for USF.
Rebecca Kopilovitch continued to shine on defense, scooping up 23 digs in the match. Ludes and
Anja Segota also recorded double-digit dig efforts in the loss.
USF lost the first set 25-21, despite leading as late as 20-19 in the competitive back-and-forth frame with four lead changes and seven ties. The Dons rallied back to tie the match in the second thanks to a late five-point run capped by a Zaloznik ace that gave USF a 24-22 advantage. However, the Broncos stayed alive in the frame after knotting the score at 24 with an ace of their own from Chelsea Heier. USF Then took three of the next four points to finish the set and tie the match.
The third went in favor of the Broncos by the largest set margin of the night, 25-15, to put the home team on top two sets to one. Not to be dismayed, the Dons pushed on and rallied back in the fourth set for a 25-17 win. USF clung to a narrow one-point lead midway through the set before rattling off strings of four- and six-consecutive points to force a fifth set in the match.
In the fifth and final frame, Santa Clara jumped to a 5-0 lead with Taylor Milton at the serve and set the Dons on their heels. USF battled back to a 7-7 tie after straight kills by Levig, but couldn't capitalize on that momentum. Santa Clara wouldn't relinquish the lead, and went on to close out the match 15-12.
Remarkably, there were only five total lead changes in the evening and four of those occurred in the first set. The team who scored the first point in the set won four out of five opportunities.
Up next, the Dons return home to face off in their eighth match of the season against a ranked opponent as USF welcomes No. 24 Pepperdine to War Memorial Gym on Saturday at 1 p.m.
