Video - post-match presserSAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco volleyball team couldn't get the offense clicking on Saturday afternoon as the visiting Toreros took down the Dons in straight sets from War Memorial Gym.
After a tough schedule to open West Coast Conference play, the Dons now stand at 13-2 on the season, and 0-2 in league action. Meanwhile, the Toreros earned the Northern California sweep to move to 8-5, 2-0 WCC after defeating Santa Clara on Thursday and earning the victory against the Dons.
USF was paced by
Katarina Pilepic's 10 kills,
Kiara McKibben added 16 assists and
Kim Gutierrez finished with six digs. Freshman
Madison Murtagh contributed four blocks on the front line for the Dons in the loss.
San Diego's Lisa Kramer was dominant on the attack in the match, compiling 24 kills, half of the total Torero offense. Offensively efficient, San Diego tallied a .341 hitting percentage compared to USF's season-low .128 hitting percentage.
In the first set, of the day the Dons scrapped out to the 7-5 lead with
Jurja Vlasic on the serve after four straight attack errors from Kramer, including hitting into the block of the USF pair
Oluoma Okaro and
Courtney Sabahi. The Toreros would rally to tie the frame at 12-all and then jump to the 18-13 lead with a 7-1 run.
The visitors led 22-16 after a service ace from Kristen Gengenbacher, but the Dons closed the gap to 24-23 after back-to-back kills off the hand of Murtagh and Pilepic. San Diego weathered the storm to close the set at 25-23 capped by a kill from Kramer, and went on to take sets two and three by a score of 25-18 in each frame.
Along with the disparity on hitting percentage, the Toreros finished with the 47-30 advantage in assists, and outdug the Dons 35-20.
The upcoming schedule for USF will continue to test the mettle of the Dons. First, USF travels to Stockton for a rare Tuesday match against No. 23 Pacific. Then, the Dons return home to take on their WCC foes from the Pacific Northwest, who sit at a combined 21-6, presently.
