PORTLAND, Ore. – Finishing out the first tournament of the season, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (1-2) dropped a highly contested doubleheader, falling to California (2-0) and Nevada (1-1) 3-2 on the final day of the Rose City Showdown at Viking Pavilion.

Game One: California 3, San Francisco 2

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• San Francisco and California started the first match evenly, tied at nine, with Astrid Puig tallying three kills through the first 18 points.
• California built a four-point lead, 16-12, but shortly after, three kills from Maria Petkova and a 7-1 USF run to end the frame gave the green and gold a victory in the first set, 25-22.
• Similar to set one, the second set started evenly, with the score knotted at eight to begin the set, with Puig picking up two more kills.
• USF fell behind, 14-10, but four more kills by Puig helped even the score once again for the Dons at 18 points apiece.
• Despite seven kills from Puig in set two, the Golden Bears bounced back to take the second set, 25-21.
• At the start of the third set, the score was tied at nine through the first 18 points, with two kills each from Petkova and Delaney Ewing, and a service ace by Jolei Akima.
• Cal fought back for a 20-17 lead, but four more Puig kills and three errors by the Golden Bears in the final points of the set gave USF a 26-24 victory in set three.
• Set four played out to be the closest set of the match, with back-and-forth play leading to a 20-20 tie, with Hayden Goodman tallying four kills.
• However, the green and gold failed to win the frame in the final points, as two service aces by Cal's Peyton DeJardin helped give the Golden Bears a 25-21 win in set four, forcing a fifth and final set.
• Cal opened the final set with a 6-1 lead, but San Francisco quickly bounced back to narrow the gap to 12-10, including four kills by Michalina Rola.
• The Dons, however, failed to overcome the early deficit, as a Cal service ace and a USF error was enough to give the Golden Bears a 15-11 fifth set victory, giving California the win, 3-2.

Game Two: Nevada 3, San Francisco 2

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Eager to bounce back from the loss to Cal, Ayub opened the match with her fourth service ace of the opening weekend, giving USF the first point of the first set.
• The Wolf Pack posted two service aces of their own to help build a 10-7 lead, but two kills by Ewing and service aces from Akima and Goodman contributed to even the set for USF at 18 apiece.
• Four Nevada errors in the final eight points of the match, along with kills by Ewing and Petkova sealed the deal for the Dons, giving USF a 25-19 set one victory.
• The second set against Nevada started even, with the score knotted at 10 through the first 20 points, highlighted by two kills from Rola and a service ace by Lauren Perri.
• Soon after, Nevada built up a four-point, 17-13 advantage, but three more kills and a block by Rola again evened the match up at 18.
• The two squads continued to exchange blows, including aces from Perri and Abby Wadas, as the score was even at 27-27. The green and gold failed to capture the set two victory, as the Wolf Pack took the final two points of the frame for a 29-27 win.
• Taking early control of set three, the Dons took a 13-8 lead, with help from three kills each by Ayub and Puig, and service aces from Akima and Rola.
• Six errors by the Wolf Pack and three more kills by Puig gave San Francisco a comfortable 25-18 set three victory.
• Eager to even up the match, the Wolf Pack took control early in the fourth match, holding an 11-7 lead to begin the set.
• San Francisco fought back to even the match up at 20 apiece, thanks in part to four kills by Amelia Dombrowska.
• However, the green and gold failed to pull off the victory, as Nevada finished the set four with a 5-1 run, pushing the Dons to another fifth and final set.
• Closing out the tournament, the two teams split the first eight points of the final match.
• Nevada took a commanding 13-9 lead to push the Dons to the brink, but a 5-1 run by USF, including an ace by Jamie Low, evened the score at 14-14.
• With the match within reach for both teams, Nevada escaped with a victory following back-to-back points, taking the fifth and final set, 16-14, and the match, 3-2.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Michalina Rola and Astrid Puig led the way for the green and gold on Saturday, with 34 and 41 combined kills across the doubleheader, respectively.
• Aylen Ayub and Delaney Ewing each totaled a .500 hitting percentage in the doubleheader, with Ayub tallying seven kills and .500 hit percentage against Cal, and Ewing recording six kills and a .500 hit percentage against Nevada.
• Against the Golden Bears, both Jolei Akima and Lauren Perri each recorded two service aces, the highest mark for both teams in the game.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will return to California for its second tournament of the season next week, as the Dons will participate in the Sacramento State Tournament from Sept. 5-7, opening the slate in Sacramento next Thursday against New Mexico State at 4 p.m.

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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.