PROVO, Utah -- Returning to the courts for the second time this week, the USF Dons volleyball program were in action Saturday afternoon in Utah as they came up short in three sets against the #14 BYU Cougars at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The first few points of Saturday afternoon's match was split pretty evenly from both sides with the Cougars taking the early 8-7 lead with Claire Crijns recording back-to-back kills to get the Dons a little closer. After USF was able to get back-to-back kills from Shyia Ricahrdson and Maria Petkova before BYU was able to pull away with the 25-20 first set victory.
• BYU came out aggressive in the second set as they raced out to the early 9-2 lead over the Dons as Petkova and Richardson were able to secure kills in the early portions of the match. USF was able to scratch across a couple of late points from Cougar service errors as the home team won the second set 25-14.
• USF brought the fight to the Cougars early in the third set as they took an early 6-5 lead thanks to a kill from Lauren Perri and a kill and block from Petkova. After BYU retook control of the set the Dons were able to get a couple of late points thanks to a pair of Petkova kills before the Cougars pulled away with the 25-17 three set victory.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Petkova had a big game against top-ranked BYU as she recorded 12 kills on 19 total attacks to go along with an impressive .526 hitting percentage.
• Crijns had another good performance for the Dons with nine kills on 23 total attacks for a total of nine points to go along with a dig for USF.
• On the defensive side, freshman libero Abby Wadas played all three sets and led the way for USF with eight total digs against the Cougars. 

UP NEXT:
The Dons now return to the Hilltop for a three match home stand starting with the Dons facing off with the Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-13, 0-6) on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. The Bulldogs won both of last season's matchups between the two programs. 
 
FOLLOW US:
For more information and updates on the University of San Francisco volleyball program, be sure to follow the Dons on Twitter @USFDonsVB, @USFDonsVB on Instagram and @USFDonsVball on Facebook.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.