STOCKTON, Calif. – In a back-in-forth five-set battle, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (8-7, 2-1) fell at Pacific (9-5, 1-1), 3-2, in its first road match of conference play Thursday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

• In the first set, after Karolina Nova tallied the opening kill for the Dons, the two teams traded points until the frame was even at 11. The Tigers regained the lead shortly after, using a 7-2 run to hold an 18-13 advantage. The Tigers maintained the advantage and held on for the first set win, 25-18.
• Bouncing back in the second set, San Francisco took advantage, winning eight of the first 14 points. Leading 8-6 and continuing the momentum, kills from Maria Petkova and Astrid Puig helped guide the Dons on a 7-3 run, pushing the lead to 15-9. Nova secured the second set with a final kill, never relinquishing the lead, to win it, 25-20.
• Getting an early lead in the third frame, the Dons went up 5-2 after Petkova recorded the first kill of the set, while Astrid Puig followed up with two more kills of her own. In a tightly contested frame, the Dons pulled ahead by five late, 20-15, and scored five of the last six points, capped off with two straight service aces from Nova, to take a two sets to one lead, 25-16. 
• Trading points early in the fourth set, San Francisco was able to pull ahead with a service ace from Ezgi Ozkan, a kill from Puig and Lindsay Oldendorf, and a solo block by Petkova to give the Dons a 14-11 advantage. Quickly responding, Pacific took back the lead with a scoring run and later secured the fourth set 25-20.
• Heading into the deciding set, the Dons trailed initially, 7-3, but kept the set close. The Dons used a 6-0 scoring run to take the first lead of the final frame, 8-7, with Petkova hitting two back-to-back and Kennedy Muckelroy and Nova firing the other two.
• .Unable to stay ahead, the Tigers pulled ahead late to secure the fifth set and match, 15-13.  

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Nova shined for the Dons throughout the five-set affair, recording a team-high 16 points. Nova accumulated 13 kills on 35 attempts for a .286 hitting percentage. The Pribham, Czech Republic graduate student added two block assists and two service aces.
• Muckelroy also recorded 13 kills, the third straight match reaching double-digit kills. 
• A strong performance on both sides of the ball, Petkova recorded 14.5 points from 11 kills while adding one solo block, three block assists, and nine digs.

 
UP NEXT:
San Francisco will be back in action at noon on Saturday, Sept. 30, when it faces Pepperdine at the Firestone Fieldhouse.

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.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor – Planet Orange - 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.