Box Score
HONOLULU, Hawaii — The San Francisco volleyball team hung with No. 10 Hawai'i, but could not upend the Rainbow Wahine on the road in front of 6,252 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday night.
Hawai'i won the match in three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-12 and 25-23.
"I wasn't sure how quickly our team would be able to come together so it was encouraging to see we can compete with a nationally ranked team in one of the toughest places to play in the country," USF coach Gilad Doron said.
Hawai'i jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set, but freshman middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik and junior outside hitter Jocelyn Levig each notched four big kills to chip away at the lead. Zaloznik added a key service ace late in the game to pull USF to within 23-21. Hawai'i closed out the game with two kills to win the first set 25-22.
The Dons out-hit the Rainbow Wahine .333 to .286 in the set, with Levig hitting an impressive .800.
USF kept the second set close early on before Hawai'i went on an 11-1 run to take a commanding lead. Hawai'i hit at a nearly untouchable clip of .458, while USF's attacking percentage was .065.
The final set was close the entire way, with the Dons taking their first lead of the match at 5-4. Momentum flip-flopped throughout, with USF setter Joan Caloiaro coming up with timely kills to keep the Dons in the hunt. A kill from Levig pulled the Dons to within 24-23, but Emily Hartong gave Hawaii the match with a kill to the back corner of the court.
Levig and Zaloznik both totaled 11 kills with Levig hitting .355 and Zaloznik .333. Caloiaro finished with 24 assists, seven digs and five kills. Freshman libero Rebecca Kopilovitch led the way defensively with 11 digs, while junior Alycia Cox added seven digs.
USF out-blocked Hawai'i with Zaloznik and Hadley Simmons both totalling five blocks.
The Dons started two freshmen, two sophomores and three juniors.
USF faces off against Arizona at 8 p.m. (PST) on Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Stan Sheriff Center for its second game in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
