SAN FRANCISCO — A near-record defensive performance and several impressive offensive showings by the University of San Francisco volleyball team Saturday carried the Dons to their first West Coast Conference victory of the season, beating Gonzaga in five sets, 3-2 (25-20, 25-27, 25-23, 21-25, 15-7), at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dons' defense was on, Saturday, holding Gonzaga (6-14, 0-8 WCC) under .200 hitting in four of five sets and limiting it to .155 hitting on the day – the fourth-lowest hit percentage by a USF opponent this season. Digs were the name of the game, as five players set or tied career highs and four Dons tallied more than 20 digs. Kathya Garcia set a new career high with 29 digs, Anna Dalla Vecchia tied her season and career high with 29 as well, Moana To'oto'o set a new career mark with 24 digs, Ally Wada set a new career high with 22, and Valeria Alegrias Cambindo notched a season and USF career high with 11 digs.
   
• Saturday's match swung back and forth between both teams. No team won any sets back-to-back. Every set featured at least one tie score and all but the fifth set saw at least one lead change. In total, the teams were tied 27 times and traded leads eight times through five sets.
   
• San Francisco only trailed 1-0 in the first set, then surged ahead and never looking back while grabbing a 1-0 match lead with a 25-20 set win. Neither team led by more than two through the first 28 points of the second set until Gonzaga went on a 6-2 run midway through. But the Dons came back with four consecutive points of their own, making it a one-point set again with two kills from Alegrias Cambindo and two from Emily Zinger. USF would surge back again with four straight points when Gonzaga had reached set point at 24-20, tying it at 24-24 with another kill from Zinger and a block from her and Katie Wagstaff. But the Bulldogs scored three of the last four points to edge out a 27-25 set win and even the match at 1-1.
   
• Both teams traded set wins in No. 3 (Dons, 25-23) and No. 4 (Bulldogs, 25-21), but the fifth set was all San Francisco. The Dons went on a 6-1 run to start the frame which included three kills from Garcia. USF would later build its decisive set lead to 11-3 with four consecutive points that included three kills from Valeria Alegrias Cambindo. The Dons ran to set point with three more points in a row boosted by a kill from Zinger and an ace from Wada. An attack error by the Bulldogs sealed the deal for San Francisco, snapping its 11-match losing streak.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 3: Three Dons tallied double-doubles Saturday. Garcia led all players with 23 kills and a career-high 29 digs. Wada posted her second 50-assist performance in as many matches and had a career-high 22 digs. Alegrias Cambindo posted her third straight double-digit kills performance with 17 and added a season-high 11 digs.
• 18: Zinger tied her season and career-high with 18 kills, one of three Dons with double-digit kills.
• 126: San Francisco tallied its most digs in a single match in at least the last eight seasons (since 2012) with 126 Saturday. The USF single-match record for digs is 152, set on Nov. 1, 1990, versus San Diego.

COMING UP

• San Francisco stays in Northern California next week when it goes on the road to Pacific (Thursday) and Saint Mary's (Saturday). Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.