MORAGA, Calif. – Competing in its third straight five-set match, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (12-9, 5-4 WCC) fell at Saint Mary's (6-13, 2-8 WCC) 3-2 Thursday night at the University Credit Union Pavilion.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Jolei Akima set the tone at the start of the first set, recording a service ace to put San Francisco up 1-0. Building on the early lead, Maria Petkova tallied three kills later on to help propel the Dons to a 5-3 advantage.
• Going back and forth later in the first set, a Saint Mary's service error knotted the frame at 15. Saint Mary's followed with a 5-0 scoring run, capped off by a Clarissa Klein kill to give the Gaels a commanding 20-15 lead.
• Responding late, San Francisco battled back to tie the first set at 24, with three kills from Michalina Rola bringing the green and gold level. Fending off a Gaels' set point, the Dons pulled ahead with back-to-back kills from Astrid Puig to take the opening set, 27-25.
• Exchanging points at the start of the second, Saint Mary's gained momentum and seized a narrow 10-8 lead after Kaliko Kealoha recorded a solo block.
• San Francisco responded quickly, using a 5-2 run, highlighted by kills from Puig, Rola, and Hayden Goodman, to give the Dons a 13-12 advantage.
• The Gaels remained steady and scored seven of the following eight points to jump in front, 19-14. The Gaels held the upper hand throughout the final 10 points, as the Dons failed to recover, winning 25-18 to even the match at a set apiece.
• Saint Mary's continued to score at will, taking an early 5-1 lead to open the third set. San Francisco, however, bounced back, scoring four straight points, with two Petkova kills, to tie the frame at five.
• Trading the following 22 points with the frame deadlocked at 16, the Gaels opened up a 22-16 lead with a 6-0 scoring run.
• Despite late efforts by San Francisco as Puig recorded back-to-back service aces to cut the deficit to 24-21, an Abby Castillon kill secured the third set for Saint Mary's, 25-21.
• In the fourth set, Saint Mary's took an early 4-1 lead before kills from Goodman, Rola, and Amelia Dombrowska, and stable defensive play guided San Francisco to a 7-6 advantage.
• In a highly contested set, the green and gold, with the frame tied at 12, recorded four of the next five points to grab a three-point edge, 16-13.
• Holding a 20-17 lead in the back half of the frame, San Francisco dropped three consecutive points, allowing Saint Mary's to even the frame at 20 after a service ace from Hailee Garcia.
• Goodman secured the frame for the Dons with a kill, solidifying a 3-1 run for a 25-23 fourth-set victory.
• The Dons trailed by three points, 3-0, at the start of the decisive fifth set, but two kills from Shannon Knight alongside an Amelia Dombrowska solo block directed San Francisco to a 6-5 lead. In a back-and-forth battle, the Dons tied the frame at 11 before the Gaels went on a 4-1 scoring run to take the set 15-12. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Three players reached double figures in kills as Rola led the Dons with 18. Rola also recorded her second straight double-double, third overall, totaling 10 digs.
• Goodman and Puig also posted double-digit kill totals, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively.
• Aylen Ayub posted 50 assists throughout the five-set match, reaching the 50-assist mark for the fourth time in her career.
• Defensively, Akima led the backline with 18 digs while Goodman paced the team with five blocks.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco continues its stretch of road contests, facing off at Pacific at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.  

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:
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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.