DENVER — Kathya Garcia and Sophie Sydenham posted back-to-back double-digit kills performances and the University of San Francisco volleyball team got its first win of 2019, as the Dons split two matches Saturday on the final day of the Denver Classic at Hamilton Gym, falling to Seattle University, 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20) before sweeping Southern Mississippi, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16).
 
vs. SEATTLE

• San Francisco (1-2) had four players notch double-digit kills in Saturday's opening match versus Seattle (2-1). Kathya Garcia posted her second straight match with 13 kills to lead the team, while Emily Zinger (11), Kate Ashman (10) and Sydenham (10) all got in on the action.
   
• The Dons fell in four sets to the Redhawks but they were all close. San Francisco was within three during the first set at 21-18 before Seattle closed with four of the last five points to win, 25-19. USF came right back and evened the match with a 25-19 win in set two, but the Redhawks closed strong again in the third, scoring four of the last five points to overcome a 22-21 deficit to edge out the Dons, 25-23, and take a 2-1 match lead.
   
• San Francisco led early in the fourth set, but a 9-2 run midway through turned a 9-7 USF lead into a 16-11 Seattle advantage. The Dons weren't done, though, coming back to within two at 21-19 thanks to three kills by Garcia and another from Zinger. But for the third time in the match, Seattle scored four of the last five points to close out a 25-20 set victory and win the match, 3-1.

vs. SOUTHERN MISS

• Everything came together for San Francisco in the day's final match versus Southern Mississippi (0-3). The defense held the Golden Eagles to just .100 hitting while logging eight blocks and a season-high 58 digs. The offense hit a weekend-best .246 with Sydenham leading the way with 13 kills. The Dons hit .417 in the third set alone to put Southern Miss away.
   
• USF came from behind in every set against Southern Miss. The Dons scored four straight points in set one after trailing 7-4 early thanks in part to two kills from Garcia, and they never trailed again in the opening frame. It happened again early in set two when the Golden Eagles scored the first three points of the set and led 8-7, only to see the Dons score six straight with kills from three different players to grab a 14-8 advantage. Another 7-0 run later made it 23-14 en route to a 25-18 set win and a 2-0 match lead. The Golden Eagles held a slim 12-11 lead midway through the third, but a 12-2 run put the set out of reach at 23-14. Sydenham had four kills during that match-clinching run.
   
• Ally Wada twice set career highs for assists Saturday. She posted her first 30-assists match in the morning versus Seattle with 31, then topped that in the afternoon with a career-high 33. Garcia hit .320 individually with 12 kills.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 1st: Orsula Staka was the final newcomer to make her USF debut, and she did that Saturday, playing in her first collegiate volleyball matches. The freshman middle blocker recorded two blocks in each match.
• 33: Wada set back-to-back career highs in assists Saturday, notching 33 against Southern Miss. Her previous high was 26 versus Southern Utah last season.
• 58: USF's 58 digs against Southern Miss was its most in a three-set match since Sept. 15, 2017, against CSU Bakersfield when the Dons collected 61 digs.

COMING UP

• San Francisco plays its first home matches of the year next weekend when it hosts its annual USF Invitational. Nevada, Purdue Fort Wayne and UC Riverside will all be in attendance for six matches in two days starting Friday.
   
• Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.