SPOKANE, Wash. -- Returning to action in Pacific Northwest for the second time this week, the USF Dons volleyball program (14-13, 7-9) put together a dominant performance on the road as they swept the Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-20, 2-13) 3-0 to pick up the road split on Saturday afternoon. 

The Dons were ready to compete from the opening serve as they took it to Gonzaga from the first set and didn't relent until they secured match point. USF received numerous strong performances on Saturday afternoon including from Claire Crijns who led the way for USF by accumulating 12 kills and a block to give the Dons their fifth sweep of the season. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• USF was able to get off to a fast start early in Saturday afternoon's match as they took an early 7-5 lead thanks in part to a service ace from Lauren Perri and a kill from Shyia Richardson. Gonzaga was able to cut into their deficit late in the set as USF held off a late Bulldog rally and secured the set winning point on a Richardson kill that was assisted by Aylen Ayub to win 25-23.
• The Dons continued their momentum in the second set as they raced out to a 9-4 advantage including winning five consecutive points to pad their lead off of kills from Orsula Staka, Richardson and Ayub. Not giving the home team any room to come back in the set, USF put their foot on the accelerator to take the set by a 25-15 score as a kill from Crijns and an attack error off a Sara Denham serve put them over the top.
• Not wanting to waste any more time in securing their victory, USF surged into the third and final set taking it to Gonzaga as they started off with a 10-5 lead thanks in part to a Maria Petkova service ace as well as a block assist from Staka and Crijns. The Dons were able to pick up their seventh true road victory of the season on a Crijns kill that was assisted by Perri to give USF the 25-17 set victory and the sweep.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Crijns led the way for the Dons as she was able to come away with 12 kills, five digs and a block to accumulate 12.5 points on Saturday afternoon.
• Richardson has a strong afternoon as well for USF as she recorded 11 kills, seven digs and two aces against Gonzaga.
• Petkova had a stellar match as she was able to record a 10 kill and 10 dig double-double to go along with two blocks to help her team earn the sweep.
• Making plays of the defensive end, libero Abby Wadas played in all three sets and led the Dons with 21 digs to go along with four aces against the Bulldogs on Saturday. 

UP NEXT:
USF now looks ahead to their final road match of the season as they head to the South Bay to compete against the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6:00 p.m. from the Leavey Center. Live streaming and live statistics are available via the team's schedule page. 
 
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.