SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Heading to the South Bay for their final road match of the regular season, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (14-14, 7-10 WCC) fell in straight sets, 3-0, at Santa Clara (11-18, 7-10 WCC) on Friday night at Leavey Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Trading points to begin the match, USF jumped on top early, 5-4, after a service ace from Letizia Aquilino in the opening moments of the first set.
• As the first set played on, the score remained close as neither team led by more than three points midway through the set. Finding their rhythm down the stretch, Santa Clara pulled ahead by rallying off six of the final seven points of the set to win 25-19 and grab an early 1-0 advantage in the match. 
• Flipping the script to start the second set, USF raced out to an early 5-2 lead following kills from Ayub, Orsula Staka and Claire Crijns and a service ace from Maria Petkova. Battling back to defend their home floor, Santa Clara responded by evening the set at 10 halfway through. Continuing their strong play, the Broncos didn't falter much to close the second set as SCU hung on 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead. 
• Similar to the first set, the two teams exchanged blows to begin the third set, with USF maintaining a one-point advantage, 9-8, after a kill from Petkova. Coming together as a unit, the Broncos went on a 11-2 run in the back half of set three as they used their momentum to catapult back in front of the Dons. Despite a 3-0 run from USF towards the end, Santa Clara, secured the third set, 25-16, to lock down the straight set sweep. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Leading USF offensively, Petkova finished with a team-high seven kills to go along with 8.5 total points.
• For Ayub, the sophomore recorded 20 assists against the Broncos on Friday night, marking the third straight match and eighteenth time this season in which she has reached at least 20 assists. 
• As a team, USF out served Santa Clara as they led SCU in service aces, 7-6.

UP NEXT:
USF will wrap up their regular season schedule by hosting their final home match of the year when they welcome Pacific to the Hilltop next Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7:00 pm. Be sure to join us before the match as the Dons will honor USF's four senior in their final home game. 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.