Dons Defeat Toreros in Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, November 23

San Francisco, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

15-13,8-8WCC

San Diego

17-9,12-4WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
San Diego	25	20	14	25	15	2
San Francisco	18	25	25	16	17	3

Photo by: Christina Leung

11/23/2024 6:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco volleyball team (15-13, 8-8 WCC) ended its regular season home slate with a win, earning a thrilling five-set victory over San Diego (17-9, 12-4 WCC) Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

San Francisco began the match by scoring five of the first six points to take an early 5-1 lead. Astrid Puig led the charge at the beginning of the first set, posting three straight kills before San Diego accumulated back-to-back attack errors.
Leading 10-7, the Dons faltered midway through the frame as the Toreros used a 12-5 scoring run to take control. Despite cutting the deficit to three, 19-16, following a Michalina Rola kill, the Toreros secured six of the final eight points to win the opening set, 25-18.
San Francisco bounced back in the second set, opening with a 7-2 advantage, as Puig continued her success with two kills.
Despite a narrow comeback by the Toreros, trimming the Dons' lead to one, 13-12, the green and gold used kills from Rola and Puig while forcing the opposition into two attack errors, pushing the advantage to four, 18-14.
The green and gold continued to hold serve throughout the remainder of the frame, as a final Rola kill secured the 25-20 set victory.
San Francisco used a balanced offensive attack to dominate the start of the third set, as five players recorded kills to guide the team to a 7-3 edge. The Dons continued their scoring run, pushing the lead to double-digits shortly after, 13-3, following an attack error from the Toreros' Kristen Erland.
Leading 21-13, the Dons eased through the back half of the frame, recording a 4-1 run to take the third set, 25-14.
San Diego answered in the fourth set, tying the match at two sets apiece, winning 25-16 to force a deciding fifth frame.
In the fifth set, the Dons began with an early 5-2 advantage, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Hayden Goodman and a service ace from Rola. The Toreros responded near the end of the set, taking a 12-10 lead following a 4-0 scoring run.
Facing match point, 14-13, the Dons' defense forced two straight attack errors to regain the lead, 15-14, and despite the Toreros evening the set at 15, the green and gold won two consecutive points to secure the set and match, 17-15.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Puig and Rola led San Francisco offensively with 12 kills apiece. Puig also recorded a .290 hitting percentage. Defensively, the duo combined for 10 digs from the outside hitter position, and Puig added four blocks.
Aylen Ayub recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 37 assists and 16 digs. Her assist total marks the 22nd time she has accumulated at least 30 assists in a match this season.
In her final match on the Hilltop, Jolei Akima posted a team-high 19 digs and added three assists.
As a team, San Francisco held San Diego to a .156 hitting percentage, the Toreros' second-lowest percentage in a match this season.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the highlights from today's match, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with head coach Diogo Silva, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with Michalina Rola and Maria Petkova, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco begins its final road trip of the season when it travels to take on Washington State at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Bohler Gym.

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 – TwentyFive Ventures – 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.