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SAN FRANCISCO - Behind 24 kills by tournament most valuable player Katarina Pilepic, USF downed North Dakota State in four games for its 13th consecutive victory in the championship match of the San Francisco Challenge.

After the Bison won the first game, 25-16, USF roared back to win the next three sets by the scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-14 to secure its fourth tournament title in as many weekends and remain unbeaten on the year.

Madison Murtagh and Courtney Sabahi, who joined Pilepic on the all-tournament team, each had 10 kills while setters Jurja Vlasic (27) and Kiara McKibben (23) combined for 50 assists.
The Bison were paced by Emily Minnick and Jenni Fassbender who each had 10 kills on the night.

USF hit .258 for the match compared to North Dakota State, which clicked at .190.

The Dons 13-match winning streak is the second longest in program history, trailing only the 2003 team, which bolted out of the gates with a 15-0 record. USF has won 39 of 44 sets over its 13 matches this season.

Win No. 13 was anything but easy. The Bison had the Dons on their heels for all of game one and went up 1-0 in the match with a 25-16 victory. With the set tied at 8-8, North Dakota State used a 9-1 run to take a 17-9 lead and the Dons could get no closer than five points down the stretch.

North Dakota State looked like they were going to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, as the Bison built a 18-14 lead. However, Sabahi led the Dons on a 5-1 run which tied the set at 19 all. The Bison won the next two points to take a 21-19 lead only to see the Dons draw even on a Bison hitting error and a big block by sophomore Jessica Gaffney. After a North Dakota State timeout, a kill by Sara Staengle gave the Dons their first lead of the game at 22-21.

With the game tied at 22, a kill by Staengle and a block by Oluoma Okaro gave the Dons a two point cushion at 24-22. A service ace by Gaffney gave the Dons a 25-22 victory in game two.

Game three was as tightly contested as the two teams were never separated by more than two points. With the set tied at 20-20, Pilepic accounted for three of the Dons next four points as USF built a 24-22 lead. With the Dons holding a 24-23 lead, a North Dakota State service error gave USF a 25-23 game three victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.

With its 13th consecutive victory now within grasp, USF wasted little time in seizing control of game four. With the Dons holding an 11-7 lead, a pair of big blocks and a kill by Murtagh game USF a 14-7 lead. The Bison could not get closer than five points down the stretch as USF earned a hard-fought victory in Memorial Gymnasium.

"I thought we came out a little sluggish and North Dakota State really took the fight to us early," said head coach Gilad Doron. "We knew we were going to be in for a tough match but our team didn't panic and seemed to find their stride midway through the second game. I thought Kat (Pilepic) played great all weekend and we got a lot of positive contributions from a lot of different players, which s a good sign heading into conference play next week."

Doron put his team's historical start into perspective after the match.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're 0-0 again. We have a major test Thursday night with BYU followed by San Diego on Saturday. Both teams are ranked in the top-25 and BYU played in the national championship game last year."

USF will host BYU, ranked ninth in last week's AVCA Top-25 poll, on Thursday night, followed by the San Diego Toreros on Saturday afternoon.

San Francisco Challenge All-Tournament Team
Precious Manu, Cal State-Fullerton
Kelly Johnson, Yale
Emily Minnick, North Dakota State
Emily Milligan, North Dakota State
Courtney Sabahi, USF
Madison Murtagh, USF
Katarina Pilepic, USF (MVP)