LOGAN, Utah – With tactical team play, the San Francisco volleyball team stifled Middle Tennessee to earn the three-set sweep and remain undefeated through its first five matched of the 2015 campaign.

The Dons advance their record to 5-0 on the season after the victory, while Middle Tennessee falls to 1-5. Effective in every facet of the game, USF outhit its opponents .282 to -.026 in the morning match of the Utah State Gossner Invitational. The Dons' defense recorded 13 total team blocks, eight more than Blue Raiders could muster.

"We did some nice tactical things to slow down a pretty athletic Middle Tennessee team, said head coach Gilad Doron. "I was happy with our blocking and defense, our ball control improved, we served really well and it was a great team effort. Games 2 and 3 we played really well and worked really hard in transition so I was glad to see that."

USF was led yet again by a 10-kill performance from Katarina Pilepic, and Jessica Gaffney and Madison Murtagh added eight apiece. Murtagh's efficient .538 hitting percentage paced the squad, and Oluoma Okaro denied a match-high seven balls, including two solo blocks from the front line.

Middle Tennessee started the match with the upper hand, leading 14-9 midway through the frame. USF would scrap back to tie the set at 18 apiece on a kill from Courtney Sabahi, assisted by Kim Gutierrez. With Gutierrez at the serve, the Dons gained the lead, and closed the frame out on a 7-2 run to win the first 25-20.

The second set was all USF, as the squad pounded ball after ball to race to the 25-11 victory in the set, never trailing. In the third set, the Dons again leapt out to the lead as Okaro'a point put the score at 9-2 with Murtagh holding down the service line. USF went on to ease to a 25-14 win in the set to close the match with the sweep.

"We followed the game plan and got timely contributions from many players today," noted Doron. "Hopefully, we'll get some rest before our final match tonight. Utah State will be a good test for where we are at this point."

The Dons close the tournament against the Aggies tonight at 6 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the match live online here, courtesy of the Mountain West Network.