SAN FRANCISCO – Offensive consistency proved to be the deciding factor as the San Francisco volleyball team fell to Gonzaga 3-2 at War Memorial Gym Thursday night.
The Dons won sets one and three, but played out of sync offensively in the even frames, hitting .000 in the second set. By the time the game rested on a decisive fifth set, the momentum was on the side of the Bulldogs, who closed with the 15-9 victory in the final frame.
The loss snaps a seven-match home winning streak that dates back to 2013, and USF now stands at 9-8 overall, and 2-3 in West Coast Conference action. Gonzaga improves to 12-4 (3-2 WCC) after picking up the victory on Pink Night.
 "It was a very tough match," said head coach
Gilad Doron. "I thought both teams played very physical, not always clean. But I've got to give Gonzaga credit, they were able to pull through. I thought the crowd was great today, and it was a great volleyball match for the fans. Unfortunately, we didn't finish on the winning side tonight."
Defensively, freshman libero
Kim Gutierrez was superb, racking up 28 digs to tie her season high for USF. Setting duties were split between a duo of Dons, with
Kiara McKibben compiling a match-high 33 assists to go along with 12 digs, and
Jurja Vlasic adding 22 assists on the night. Offensively, USF was led by
Katarina Pilepic's 17 kills on .324 hitting. Senior
Anja Segota added 14 kills for USF to go along with seven digs.
The Dons jumped out to an early lead in the first, as a crosscourt kill from Segota put the score at 3-1. USF grew the advantage to 14-9 after  Pilepic's hard hit went through the block and down for the point. Vlasic set up a Segota drive down the line to make it 20-15 before the senior from Pula, Croatia, finished off the set with the final point, and a tally of six kills on .545 hitting in the opening frame.
Despite a score of 3-3 after McKibben's second touch attack went down for the kill, and 6-6 when Segota hit pay dirt for the point, the second set swung firmly in favor of the Bulldogs. Gonzaga went on a 5-0 run to take the lead and never looked back, easing to a 25-17 victory in the set. Savannah Blinn, the WCC's leading scorer, closed the frame with the point to knot the score heading into halftime.
Both teams came out of the break with gusto, and the score was tied at five-all after Jordan Gasser's kills off the assist from Nikki Leonard. But the Dons would string tighter a 9-3 run capped by a service ace from Segota to build a 14-8 advantage and force a Gonzaga timeout. USF stayed out in front for the remainder of the set, hitting .464 in the frame.
The Bulldogs stayed within four after a kill from Blinn set the score at 22-16, but the Dons closed on great defense and solid offense. Set point was earned after Leonard's serve dribbled over the net and
Kim Gutierrez made a diving save. McKibben passed it off to
Jessica Gaffney for the point, and on the ensuing play
Inbar Vinarsky's kill tied gave the Dons back the lead, 2-1.
Gonzaga earned the 25-19 victory in the fourth paced by seven kills by Blinn, and a .351 team hitting percentage in the frame. Despite a tie at 10-10 after Pilepic's line drive, Gonzaga went on a 6-2 run to edge out to a lead, and USF could never recover. Vlasic went down for the Dons with the score at 18-14, and the momentum remained on the side of the Bulldogs for the remainder of the night.
Gonzaga's Blinn, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, finished the evening with a match-high 25 kills on .242 hitting.
"Blinn brings it every night and she's having a great year," Doron noted of Gonzaga's junior outside hitter. "She's a special player, and the fact that she can handle the load and everybody knows it and she's still producing at the rate she's producing at is remarkable. I think she's one of the top kids in the country. She leads the conference in points and there is a reason for it. Even still, I thought we did a good job. We stopped her below her season average, below her percentage, but she was still very effective.
"I knew it was going to be a very, very physical match because Blinn allows them all to swing freely. I thought we passed the ball well, we matched them defensively and the block was tied. But I think they had a little more in the tank tonight. We just need to be more consistent."
The Dons have to rebound and prepare for Portland, who comes in seeking its first conference win of the season. Despite USF's string of five-straight wins against the Pilots, Doron is not overlooking the improvements in the Portland program.
"We have to prepare and bring our "A" game," said Doron. "All in all, we take on a much improved Portland team from last year and that's the challenge. We're a little disappointed tonight but we'll be ready for Saturday."
USF hosts the Pilots Saturday at 1 p.m., at War Memorial Gym.
