SAN FRANCISCO — A grueling back-and-forth West Coast Conference match Tuesday finally went the way of visiting Pacific at the very end, as the Tigers survived a thorough effort from the University of San Francisco volleyball team, edging the Dons in five sets, 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13), at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Dons (4-10, 0-3 WCC) won the first set with a hold-off of their own when the Tigers (10-4, 2-0 WCC) came roaring back. San Francisco has built itself a comfortable 20-12 lead before Pacific scored seven of the next 10 points to make it a four-point set at 23-19. USF would finish the victory with a kill from Kate Ashman, one of her 10 on the night, and grab a 1-0 match lead.
Â
- Pacific settled in after the first set, winning back-to-back sets while holding USF under 20 points in both of them to take a 2-1 match lead. The Tigers held the Dons to just .077 hitting in the second, and hit .371 themselves in the third.
Â
- San Francisco was down but not out in the fourth set. Pacific took a 13-10 lead midway through, and the Dons responded with a 7-1 run that put them up, 17-14. The ball was spread all over during that run. Ally Wada had an ace and a kill, Emily Zinger had a kill and a block, Orsula Staka had a kill and a block, and Kathya Garcia added a kill during the run.
Â
- Pacific snuck back up to within one point at 23-22, but ran into the Dons' block again. First, Garcia and Staka combined for a block to make it 24-22, and then Staka and Zinger teamed up to clinch the 25-23 set victory and tie the match at 2-2.
Â
- The match just never wanted to end, even in the fifth, as neither team could grab a decisive advantage. Neither team led by more than two points at any point in the deciding set that featured six ties and a lead change. But Pacific outscored San Francisco, 7-4, down the stretch, using four kills from Allison Dennemann and six kills overall to finish off a narrow 15-13 fifth-set victory and clinch the match, 3-2.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 3: San Francisco had three players with double-digit kills, led by McKenna Marshall's season-high 17. It was Marshall's third consecutive match leading the Dons in kills.
- 20-20: Pacific had two players tally 20-plus kills, with Riley Patterson logging 26 and Dennemann going for 21. They both hit over .300 in their performances, and also posted double-doubles, with Patterson notching 17 digs and Dennemann having a 20-20 night with 22 digs.
- 30: Anna Dalla Vecchia collected a career-high 30 digs Tuesday. She also had three service aces, two assists, and was credited with a kill on the first point of the fifth set after a long rally that ended in her sending the ball over into an open space on the Tigers' floor.
COMING UP
- San Francisco stays local this week as it continues WCC play at 7 p.m. on Friday at Santa Clara. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.
