HONOLULU – An intense battle and first-set victory that hushed the crowd of 5,968 fans at the Stan Sherriff Center. The despite the solid start, the San Francisco volleyball team put up a valiant effort before falling to No. 22 Hawaii 3-1 to close out the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Volleyball Challenge Sunday night.

After facing two ranked opponents over the weekend, the Dons move to 5-4 on the year. Hawaii, ranked No. 22 in the last AVCA coaches poll, improves to 6-3 after holding on for the victory.

USF was paced by 13 kills and four blocks by Katarina Pilepic. Freshman Oluoma Okaro added a career-high 12 kills for the Dons, and senior Valentina Zaloznik finished with 10 kills and six blocks in the match. USF setters Kiara McKibben and Jurja Vlasic split duties directing the offense, coming up with 24 and 18 assists, respectively. Libero Kim Gutierrez dug out a match-high 17 balls for the Green and Gold defense.  

The Dons opened the match with a solid display of cohesion and team synergy, putting the hosts on their heels. Hawaii's Ginger Long dropped in a kill to the back corner to give the Rainbow Wahine a 5-4 lead, but the Dons answered with a powerful kill by Pilepic. With USF on the serve, Anja Segota gave the Dons a lead after a solo stuff to the middle of the court. After a service error by USF knotted the score at 11 apiece, another solid strike by Pilepic found its mark. Hawaii scratched to the tie at 14-all after a service ace by Kalei Greeley. The Dons scored 11 of the next 12 points to put away the set in decisive fashion, with a final score of 25-15.

Four of the final five points were scored by the Dons duo of Okaro and Vinarsky, both with the kill and working the block. The frame was capped by a service ace from Segota, and the Dons hit .517 in the first set, a mark that stands as the second-highest set tally of the season.

The second set was punctuated by intense physical play and long rallies. The Dons found themselves playing from behind from the outset, after an attack by Jessica Gaffney went long to put the Rainbow Wahine up 4-1. USF rallied to pull within one after Segota's cross court kill was too hot for the Hawaii defense to handle. Greeley's strong attack gave Hawaii a 16-11 advantage, its largest of the set, before USF scored the next three points.

Pilepic kept the set still within reach after two USF attacks resulted in continued action on the Dons' side of the court before the sophomore from Novi Vinodolski, Croatia, powered down a kill to make it 22-20. After staving off a set point when Nikki Taylor's ball went wide, the Dons eventually dropped the frame by a final score of 25-22.

The physicality continued in third set, but USF found the scoreboard first after Zaloznik and Pilepic combined for the block of Adolpho's attempt. The teams exchanged points when Okaro's attack went off the block and the Dons and Rainbow Wahine were tied at five apiece. Hawaii's Taylor Higgins powered home a jump serve for the ace to put the score at 13-8 in favor of the home team, but gave the point back on the ensuing play as her serve went into the net.

Gaffney's floater found the floor to put the score at 18-15 and give a spark to USF. On the next play, Zaloznik and Pilepic twice combined for the block, but after the long rally Hawaii's Greeley came awa with the point. The Dons used a 4-1 run capped by an ace from Segota's serve to pull within two, at 23-21, but Hawaii would again hang on to win the frame by a final tally of 25-22.

The fourth and final set began with a service error for the home team, and the Dons built a 4-1 lead after Taylor's attack went off the antenna. Hawaii would go on to score the next five points to take the advantage, but the Dons' drive and intensity was evident. After Kalei Adolpho's attack went wide, Zaloznik and Pilepic stuffed down the attempt by Taylor and gave USF a 15-14 lead. Pilepic pounded a cross court kill to keep the Dons head 17-16 before a smattering of unforced errors late in the set were too much to overcome. USF eventually dropped the set 25-20 as Hawaii escaped the weekend with a home-court win.

For her efforts on the court, Zaloznik was named to the all-tournament team for the third weekend in a row. In the Dons' three matches, she finished with a combined total of 35 kills and 15 total blocks from the middle.

Next, USF travels to Denver, Colo., for a trio of matches. The Dons will meet up with the host Pioneers Friday at 6 p.m. PT.