Box Score
MORAGA, Calif. – The San Francisco volleyball team suffered a setback at the hands of No. 25 Saint Mary's despite three tough sets in Moraga on Saturday afternoon.
The third set came down to extra points after the teams found themselves deadlocked at 10-10 and again at 20-20. The Gaels then responded with three-straight points with Missy White at the serve, but an
Ester de Vries kill assisted by
Leanna Ludes stopped Saint Mary's at 23-21.
The Dons took three of the next four points to even the tally again, this time at 24-24 with a
Jocelyn Levig blast. The contest was again a stalemate at 26-26 and 27-27 before the Gaels powered home the final two points to end the match.
In the first set for the teams was a see-saw battle throughout. USF had the score at 20-20 after a Levig kill, but the Gaels went on a 5-2 run to close out the set. The Dons had their best hitting percentage of the day in the first, at .455 percent.
A slow start hampered the Dons in the second set who found themselves in a 6-1 hole before rattling off a string of four-consecutive points to rally back. From that point, the teams dueled to the 25-20 finish in favor of the Gaels to put Saint Mary's in the driver's seat after two.
USF was led by two double-digit kill performances, with de Vries' 14 leading the way on the day. Ludes finished the match with 38 assists and
Rebecca Kopilovitch led the Dons with 16 digs. With the loss, the Dons drop to 13-10 (4-6 WCC) and the Gaels move to 13-9 (8-3 WCC).
The Dons return home to the friendly confines War Memorial Gym to welcome the Santa Clara Broncos in a Rivalry Week matchup on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
