PORTLAND, Ore – Despite a season-high 25 kills for junior
Katarina Pilepic, the Dons could not close out the comeback bid with a victorious result, falling in five sets at Portland on Thursday night.
The Dons battled back from a two game deficit to force a fifth set against the Pilots before Portland came away with the narrow victory at the Chiles Center, taking the match 25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 19-25, 15-13.
Pilepic's kill tally led all scorers on the night, and freshman
Madison Murtagh finished with 14 kills as the only other double-digit offensive performance for the Dons to go along with six blocks.
Kiara McKibben compiled a 26-assist, 18-dig double-double which stands as her sixth of the season. Senior
Jessica Keenan posted a career-high 23 digs, nearly doubling her previous best.
Jessica Gaffney denied 10 total attacks, a new career blocking benchmark for the sophomore, and the 22nd time a Don has posted double-digit blocks.
After dropping the first two sets of the night, USF regrouped at halftime. Portland built an early 10-6 lead aver Monica Gajda's serve found the floor for the ace. The Dons would rally back for the tie at 13-all with Gaffney's solo stuff at the net, but the Pilots would edge back to the lead on the ensuing play. The teams were again knotted at 16 apiece when Murtagh and Gaffney combined for the denial to give the Dons the lead. USF powered to the 25-20 victory to extend the match to a fourth set.
The Dons jumped out to the advantage and led 16-11 after Pilepic's kill off the assist from Gaffney found its mark. USF extended to 24-16 to force match point when Sara Stangle scored the point for the Dons. Despite a surge for the Pilots, USF took the frame 25-19 on its fourth attempt at set point after another solo block for Gaffney forced a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame of the evening, Portland raced out to the 8-4 advantage after an attack error for Pilepic, but Murtagh's kill off the assist from McKibben tied to set at 12 apiece. USF enjoyed the 13-12 lead after a ball handling error for the Pilots, but the home team went on to take the final two points of the match to notch the victory.
Both teams hit under 20 percent in the match, but the Pilots earned the .179 to .146 advantage. USF finished with the edge in team blocks (12 to 10), digs (94 to 85) and assists (56 to 52) but couldn't manage the come-from-behind victory despite its best efforts. With the loss the Dons move to 16-8 overall and 3-8 in WCC action, while Portland improves to 12-10 (2-8 WCC).
Next up for USF is a trip to Spokane to take on Gonzaga on Saturday. First serve between the Dons and the Bulldogs is slated for 12 p.m.
