EDINBURG, Texas – Following a stellar, back-to-back sweep performance on Friday, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (5-4) continued its excellence to close out the UTRGV Tournament slate, picking up a 3-0 victory against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (4-4) on Saturday at UTRGV Fieldhouse, with Maria Petkova and Astrid Puig each totaling double-digit kills in the tournament's final match.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Opening the first set, San Francisco and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi split the first ten points for a 5-5 tie, with Abby Wadas picking up the first service ace of the game.
• The Islanders strung together four straight points to claim a 9-5 advantage, but the green and gold quickly closed the gap due to four kills and an ace by Maria Petkova to take a 13-12 lead.
• The set remained close throughout as the teams exchanged points, leading to a 23-all tie.
• With the match within both teams' reach, kills from Hayden Goodman and Michalina Rola secured the early lead as the Dons took the first set, 25-23.
• San Francisco quickly put its foot on the gas to open the second set, taking an early 3-0 lead, with Petkova picking up two early service aces.
• TAMUCC kept the frame close early, as USF held a narrow 12-10 advantage. Eager to take control of the set, the Dons strung together six consecutive points to take an 18-10 advantage, highlighted by kills from Astrid Puig and Goodman.
• An Islanders kill ended the green and gold's run to put the score at 18-11, but San Francisco finished with the set's last seven points, including two service aces from Wadas, to finish a dominating performance for a 25-11 victory in the second set.
• Seeking a perfect third sweep in the tournament, USF opened the third set with a 6-1 advantage, including kills from Puig and Rola.
• After the Islanders narrowed the deficit to two points, 8-6, six kills from Petkova helped boost the Dons' advantage to 15-8.
• Two USF errors gave the Islanders the following two points to put the score at 15-10, but the green and gold quickly avenged those errors to close out the third set with a 10-1 scoring run, including two kills from Crystal Galaviz, to secure a 25-11 third set victory, notching a third consecutive sweep in the UTRGV Tournament.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Leading the attack for the Dons, Maria Petkova and Astrid Puig tallied 12 and 10 kills, respectively, against the Islanders.
• Following a 70-assist performance in yesterday's doubleheader, Aylen Ayub added 31 in the three sets against TAMUCC.
• As a squad, San Francisco recorded a .350 hitting percentage in Saturday's game to follow up a .377 percentage in yesterday's doubleheader.
• In the final two sets of the match, the green and gold posted a stellar .510 hitting percentage with just four attack errors.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco returns to the West Coast this week, first heading to San Jose State on Thursday for a 5:00 p.m. game against the Spartans, before making its 2024 Hilltop debut to host the USF Challenge beginning Friday, Sept. 20, when the Dons face Air Force for a 6:00 p.m. meeting at War Memorial at the Sobrato 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:
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 US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge our department sponsor – San Francisco Toyota - 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.