LOGAN, Utah – For the second straight weekend, the San Francisco volleyball team has hardware to add to the trophy case after capping the Utah State Gossner Invitational with a resounding sweep of the hosts to earn the tournament crown Saturday night at the Wayne Estes Center.

The Dons continued to maintain a furious pace on offense coupled with aggressive defense to cruise to the 25-15, 25-20, 25-16 victory over the Aggies and move to 6-0 on the season.

On the weekend, tournament MVP Madison Murtagh put down 27 kills on .434 hitting and finished with 15 total blocks. All-Tournament Team selection Katarina Pilepic combined for 41 kills on a .321 hitting percentage, and fellow honoree Jessica Gaffney added 29 kills, 22 digs and five service aces for the Dons.

Against the Aggies, Pilepic pounded 15 kills for the Dons on an impressive .542 hitting percentage. Murtagh and Gaffney both added nine kills to their tally, with Kiara McKibben assisting on 28 plays and adding three aces. A trio of Dons contributed 10 digs in the tournament finale – Courtney Sabahi, Kim Gutierrez and Gaffney.

"I am very proud of our team start tonight on the road," said head coach Gilad Doron. "We started the first game very well, and it was great to see how we've started developing the timing with our defense and blocking.  Our offense was clicking from the very first point and we were able to overcome any runs by Utah State and kept the crowd out of it."

Repeating the trend from the morning match, the Dons jumped out to an early lead on the Aggies, forcing a Utah State timeout after Pilepic's ball made it 10-4. The Dons continued to hold the advantage throughout the frame and USF shut it down with a 5-1 run with McKibben at the serve to close out the first set 25-15.

Utah State came out fast in the second set, holding the 12-7 lead after stringing together a run of five points in a row. But the Dons would rally to tie at 15 apiece after Oluoma Okaro set up a scoring play for Sabahi. The set was again tied at 17, 18, 19 and 20 before the Dons scored the final five points to earn the 25-20 victory heading into halftime.

The Dons and Aggies stayed tight through much of the third set, but the Dons were able to put together a decisive run late in the frame to down the hosts in straight sets. After a service error from Utah State's Rachel Gale gave the USF the 16-15 lead, the Dons would score 10 of the last 11 points of the night, punctuated by a service ace for senior Jessica Keenan to seal the set and the match.

The 6-0 start to the season is a first since 2005, when the Dons rolled off eight victories to start the year.

"It was a great display of teamwork this weekend," noted Doron. "We will enjoy this one and be ready to head to New York next week."

The Dons will play four next weekend in the St. John's Kaiser Classic. USF takes on Cornell and George Mason Friday before turning around to face Central Connecticut and the host St. John's Red Storm on Saturday.
 
2015 Utah State Gossner Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Most Valuable Player: Madison Murtagh (USF)
Katarina Pilepic (USF)
Jessica Gaffney (USF)
Chennin Benson (Southern Utah)
McKenzie Nicol (Southern Utah)
Hannah Gleason (Utah State)