SAN FRANCISCO – It was a milestone evening for the San Francisco volleyball team as the Dons dispatched Saint Mary's 3-0 Tuesday night at War Memorial Gym.

Senior middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik entered the night needing six kills to reach 1,000 in her four-year career. And as she exited the court with her teammates reveling in the victory, Zaloznik tallied eight kills become just the 10th woman to earn the landmark number.

"Val has been great for us for four years. It was just a matter of time for her to reach this mark, but I'm really happy for her," said head coach Gilad Doron. "She's accomplished a lot of things these last four years for us and she's been a cornerstone. To have her reach this is really a tribute to the team, and their ability to give her the ball as a middle and then for her to score. It's really difficult as a middle to reach that milestone because you're depending on the pass and the setter, but she's been really special and hopefully she doesn't stop here."

After notching four kills through the first two sets, Zaloznik tallied her fifth of the night with a hard-hit strike to open the third set. Her 1,000th kill came five points later off the assist from Kiara McKibben. She drove the point home with a kill to put the score at 12-11, and powered home her final kill of the evening with the frame at 23-18. After the match, Zaloznik was presented with the game ball.
  But on the victorious evening, Zaloznik was certainly not the only plot line pulsing on the court. Sophomore Katarina Pilepic recorded a match-high 15 kills, and McKibben finished with 20 assists and 11 digs, her fifth double-double of the season.

Firing on all cylinders both offensively and defensively, the Dons never trailed and held Saint Mary's to .125 hitting, compared to USF's final mark of .284. On defense, the Dons outdug the Gaels by a margin of 51 to 38. USF took the match by final set scores of 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 to quickly dispatch the visitors.

"I saw them flying for every ball and that was great to see," noted Doron. "When we play inspired and we go for every ball that is contagious. Everyone does it. We covered some great balls, we had second chance opportunities and really when we play that way, we can compete with anyone and put ourselves in a position to win.

"I think our team is playing with great confidence right now. They need to kind of stay on course, stay in the process and trust that everyone is doing what they're supposed to do. If they continue to do that then the process will bring success. We preach to them the process is going to take care of itself, the score will take care of itself. "

Dating back to last season, the Dons have won seven straight at home, including their first five of the 2014 season. USF now stands at 9-5 on the year, and 2-0 in West Coast Conference action, while Saint Mary's drops to 4-9 and the Gaels are still looking for their first league win. The straight-set victory is the sixth of the season for USF, and the third consecutive for the team.

Next, USF heads to Provo, Utah, to battle No. 10 BYU. The two-game swing against ranked opponents in BYU and No. 23 San Diego will be a challenge for USF, but the Dons' preseason battles prepared the squad for the battle.

We stayed in the moment and we didn't let the outcome of the play affect how we played," explained associate head coach Ken Ko. "We came out, we played inspired defense, we had great touches on the block and it allowed us a transition offense. It was a great team contribution. I think we're doing a better job of playing at that level daily and it translates on the weekend. We're are raising the level of play in the gym daily, and that makes a huge difference.

"Our preseason schedule – we've been here before. The great thing about our matches this week is that we get to have a day of rest in between. Playing UCLA and Hawaii, it was great preparation for us to play against ranked opponents who are really good in their own gym. It's a challenge, but I think our team is ready."

The Dons and the Cougars meet up Thursday at 6 p.m. PT. The match will be televised on BYUtv.