SAN FRANCISCO — The University of San Francisco volleyball team trailed just once Friday night during a dominating sweep of visiting Utah State, opening the Bay Area Invitational with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22) victory over the Aggies at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Valeria Alegrias Cambindo had two of the Dons' (4-3) first three kills and they were off running in the first set. Emily Zinger started her double-digit kills night with the first point of the match, putting down a kill to start the first set. A 6-0 spurt early on featuring three kills from Kathya Garcia gave USF control of the opening frame at 10-4.
   
• San Francisco ran out to a 20-13 lead, but the Aggies (0-8) wouldn't go away quietly, scoring seven of the next nine points to pull within two at 22-20. Kills by Zinger, Victoria Rogers and a Utah State service error wrapped up the first set at 25-22 for the Dons.
   
• San Francisco continued its momentum into the start of the second set, jumping out to 4-0 and 7-2 leads. The Dons never trailed in the second, landing at that same 20-13 score as the first but not letting the Aggies back in this time. Utah State tried, however, with three consecutive points to make it 20-16, but USF scored five of the final seven points with four kills from three different players and a block from Ally Wada and Orsula Staka to clinch the set at 25-18 and take a 2-0 match lead.
   
• Utah State played tighter in the third, coming back from trailing 5-1 early to tie it at 8-8. It would force four more ties and not trail by more than two for the next 20 points. USF scored four of five points thanks to two kills from Zinger and two Aggies errors, making it 22-18. It was Garcia who would put the finishing touches on the sweep, putting down her team-leading 14th kill to clinch the Dons' third sweep of the season.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• .309: San Francisco hit a season-best .309 Friday. It was the first time this season it cracked .300 and bested its previous season best of .296 on Sept. 6 versus UC Riverside.
• .750: Katie Wagstaff had a career night, hitting .750 to lead all players. She tied her career high with six kills and no errors on eight attempts while also logging a career high three assists and her first two career service aces. She also added three blocks.
• 7: It was 7 for 7 for Garcia, who logged her seventh double-digit kills match in as many played. Her 14 kills were her third-most this season.

COMING UP

• The Dons conclude the Bay Area Invitational and their home stand at 5 p.m. Saturday when they host Cornell University. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.