Box Score
LOS ANGELES – The San Francisco volleyball team opened West Coast Conference play against Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion Thursday evening.
And unfortunately for the Dons, the Lions flummoxed the USF squad on its way to a straight-set victory to improve to 6-4 (1-0 WCC) on the year, while USF moved to 4-7 (0-1 WCC).
Freshman
Katarina Pilepic led the Dons with 12 kills and
Valentina Zaloznik added eight.
Mackenzie Murtagh assisted on 17 of USF's 33 kills on the night with
Kiara McKibben helping on eight balls for the Dons.
USF started slow in the first, falling behind by a score of 8-2 after a service ace by Betsi Metter fell in for the point. But the Dons would claw back into the set after an ace of its own from
Anja Segota was followed by another USF point to tie the frame at 13-13. An ace by Zaloznik gave the Dons their first lead in the match with the score at 16-15 in favor of the Dons and a LMU attack error added to USF's slim lead. However, the Lions regained the lead after a kill by Litara Keil made the score 22-21 before going on to take the first 25-22.
The LMU offense was clicking in the second frame where the Lions compiled a .484 attack percentage to take the set with the wire-to-wire win and a final score of 25-16. The Lions again jumped out to the early lead in the final set before the Dons rallied back by the midway point of the frame.
A 5-1 Dons run capped by an
Ester de Vries kill made the score 13-10 in favor of the home team. USF continued to inch closer in the set and found the score knotted at 18-18 after an LMU hitting error. The Dons went on to take their second lead of the evening with
Rebecca Kopilovitch at the serve. Her ace gave the dons the 22-19 advantage, their largest of the night, before the Lions reeled off the final five points in the set to close the match.
Loyola Marymount had the statistical edge in nearly every category, outhitting the Dons by 14 percent, and finishing with 50 kills on the night, compared to USF's 33. The Lions were led by Felicia Arriola's 14-kill effort and a .480 attack percentage, while Keil ended the night with 12 kills on 52.6 percent hitting.
USF looks to regroup and post its first WCC win of the season as the team continues the trip through Southern California on Saturday, taking on Pepperdine at 1 p.m., in Malibu, Calif.
