PORTLAND, Ore. – For the fifth time this season, the University of San Francisco women's volleyball team went all the way to a fifth and final set, and for the fourth time this year the Dons came out on top, defeating Portland 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11) Friday afternoon at the Chiles Center.
 
"It was a 'team-maturing' bounce-back win for the Dons," said head coach Frank Lavrisha. "Portland was ready to compete against us, a great sign of respect and a great responsibility. Marshall was solid, leading us in kills, digs, and aces."
 
With the win today, USF (5-3, 5-3 WCC) has matched its conference win total from the last three years combined.  The Dons got it done today on the strength of their serve and the play of McKenna Marshall.
 
USF finished the afternoon with a season-high 12 service aces.  Marshall accounted for five of those aces.  Marshall was a force on the day.  The five service aces were a career-high, she also finished with a career-best 24 digs along with her 23 kills for her sixth double-double of the season. 
 
Greta Corti was the only other Don in double figures in kills.  She finished with 14 on the day, her final kill sealed the match for USF.  Overall, the Dons' attack was inconsistent but it was enough.  For the match, USF hit .149, tallying 59 kills on 202 attempts with 29 errors.
 
Aylen Ayub had a strong day running the Dons' attack.  She finished with 50 assists along with nine digs.  Anna Dalla Vecchia had 23 digs, four assists and two aces.  Bruna Correa had three more assists, giving her six in two matches.
 
The Pilots (1-7, 1-7 WCC) hit .147 on the day with 52 kills on 184 attempts with 25 errors.  Portland errors played a crucial role in the win, the Pilots hit into four attack errors and seven errors overall in the final set. Mia Wesley finished with 23 kills to lead the Pilots. Jayde Harris had 11.  They were the only Pilots in double figures in kills.
 
The first two sets were remarkably even with both teams hitting under .200.  The Pilots took the opening set 25-23 and threated to take a 2-0 advantage in the match when they led the second set 22-21.  But the Dons responded with a 4-0 run that started with a Marshall kill and ended with a Marshall service ace.
 
The two teams once again traded sets in the third and fourth games.  USF took the third set, but the Pilots made it closer than the Dons would have liked.  USF led 22-12, but the Pilots went on a 5-0 run forcing USF to regroup.  The Dons took the set, but the Pilots took the momentum into the fourth set where they came away with 25-21 win.
 
In the fifth set, the Dons took over. With the set tied 8-8 following a USF service error, Marshall tallied back-to-back kills to give the Dons a two-point cushion.  The Pilots could not recover, three straight errors by the Pilots and a kill by Corti gave the Dons a 15-11 win.
 
USF will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to San Diego to take on the 6-0 Toreros at the Jenny Craig Pavilion for a pair of West Coast Conference matches.  First serve for game one is slated for 1:00 p.m. The match will be streamed on the WCC Network.