SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's volleyball team opened play Saturday at the Fresno State Invitational with two matches, falling 3-0 (31-29, 25-22, 30-28) in three very closely contested sets versus American University, and in four sets to Cal Baptist, 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20).

MATCH ONE
San Francisco (2-3) and American (3-2) were never separated by more than two points in the first set. The Dons played themselves to three different set points, but the Eagles came back each time. The Dons also fought off three other set points for American, but the Eagles finally scored back-to-back points to break a 29-29 tie and take a 1-0 match lead.

The same thing happened in the third set. Trailing by four midway through the set, USF went on a 5-0 run, and from there the teams were never again separated by more than two points. The Dons again had three different set points but American held off defeat, while the Eagles also had three match points, finally clinching it on the third with consecutive errors from the Dons.

Emily Zinger led USF with 15 kills and a .419 hitting percentage in the match. Kathya Garcia also had double-digit kills with 11 and notched a double-double with 14 kills. American was led by Aleksandra Kazala's 19 kills and Loren McKenzie's 11 on a .550 hitting percentage.

MATCH TWO
The Dons hit .293 in their lone set victory in the third. USF went on a 5-0 run that would push its lead 17-14 thanks to back-to-back kills from Garcia and a service ace from Anna Dalla Vecchia. 

Two Dons recorded double-doubles. Garcia recorded 11 kills and 18 digs, and Ally Wada tallied 12 digs and 16 assists. Sophie Sydenham tallied a team-high 12 kills and Erin Anthony led with 20 assists.

COMING UP
The Dons conclude play at the Fresno State Invitational at 1 p.m. Saturday with a lone match against the host Bulldogs. The teams met twice last season and split the season series. USF has won five of the last six meetings with Fresno State.