SACRAMENTO – The University of San Francisco women's volleyball team began the Diogo Silva era on Friday in Sacramento. Unfortunately for Silva and the Dons it came against the sixth ranked Florida Gators at the Hornet Invitational hosted by Sacramento State. USF battled but ultimately fell 3-0 (10-25, 12-25, 12-25).
 
USF (0-1) featured a very young lineup against the Gators (1-0). The Dons had nine freshmen see extensive action on Friday, including six newcomers. Freshman outside hitter Shyia Richardson led the Dons with six kills.
 
Attack errors were USF's Achilles heel. The Dons hit -0.041 on the day, tallying 18 kills on 73 swings with 21 errors. The Gators countered by hitting .491 on the match, with 35 kills on 57 swings with just seven errors.
 
The Gators opened the game on fire, smashing nine kills on their first nine attempts. The Dons attack started the afternoon slow, being held without a kill on their first 13 attempts. Hannah Kinnison had the first kill of the season when she connected on a feed from Aylen Ayub with the Dons trailing 13-5 in the first set.
 
The Gators took a large lead in the opening set thanks largely to mistake free volleyball. The Gators finished the frame with 16 kills on 21 attempts with just one error.
 
In the second set, the Dons attack showed more life. Richardson led the way with four kills while Orsula Stake added a pair. Errors continued to plague USF however; the Dons hit -0.037 in the frame, tallying eight kills on 27 swigs with nine errors.
 
In the third and final set the Dons managed just five kills on 24 attempts. Florida put the match away thanks to a quick 4-0 run to begin the third.
 
USF will return to action tomorrow afternoon when they take on tournament host Sacramento State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday's match will feature live stats and video, which can be accessed on the Dons schedule page.