University of San Francisco Athletics

Box Score | Video Highlights
SAN FRANCSICO – Sending the four seniors of the San Francisco volleyball team off in style, USF downed Loyola Marymount 3-0 at War Memorial Gym Saturday.

With the win, the Dons improve to 13-15 on the season, and 9-9 in the West Coast Conference. USF stannds in fourth in the WCC standings edging out Pepperdine, whom the Dons earned a season sweep over on Thursday.

USF was powered to victory by 12 kills from Ester de Vries. Katarina Pilepic added 10 kills on .538 hitting, and Valentina Zaloznik posted nine kills on the day. The Dons finished the day with a .299 attack percentage, compared to Loyola Marymount's .188 effort.

"We talked about this being the last game for our four seniors, but for many it's the beginning of the rest of their career," associate head coach Ken Ko said. "It's great watching Ester starting to get rhythm back in her swing and power back in her swing and watching Katarina continue to have a devastating effect whenever she plays. And Valentina is being a fantastic leader in everything she does. We're excited for what this team and what this program is looking forward to in the future."

Senior Mackenzie Murtagh capped her collegiate career with a team-high 20 assists, and Rebecca Kopilovitch dug out 10 balls in her last time on the court at War Memorial Gym. Along with Murtagh and Kopilovitch, the Dons bid farewell to seniors Malina Terrell and Whitney Swain.

Team defense was on full display, with the Dons finishing the match with 10 total blocks, its first double-digit blocking total in a three-set match.

"The blocking today was incredible," head coach Gilad Doron said. "You always list the number of blocks that goes for a kill, but you don't list the ones that stop them and I think that we sent a really good message.

"We played really well in all phases of the game today. When the team plays together and the players are covering each other's back and we play with the energy we did, it's tough to stop us. I'm so happy that we could finish in this fashion at home in front of our crowd, and that was a great two matches to end the season."

The highly competitive first set started with a block by Zaloznik and Pilepic and set the tone of the match from the outset. The Dons built an 8-4 lead after three straight points from de Vries, as Jurja Vlasic was at the serve. The Lions would battle back in the frame, which was tied on 16 occasions. With the Dons up 21-19 in the set, Loyola Marymount scored the next two points to nab its first lead of the game. The assisted block by Hannah Tedrow and Litara Keil put the Lions up 21-22 before USF knotted the score on the next point.

The Lions again edged ahead 24-23 after an Amber Mirabello kill for the point forced a USF timeout. After the time to regroup, the Dons scored the next two points before the Lions yet again tied the set at 25 apiece. A kill by Terrell was followed by a solo block by Terrell to finish the set 27-25 in favor of USF.

The Lions struck first in the second set, but USF quickly pulled out to a 9-6 lead after a kill from Anja Segota found the floor. After a Loyola Marymount service ace pulled the Lions within one and the score at 13-12, USF exploded for a 9-3 run capped by Pilepic and Zaloznik teaming together to stuff the attack attempt by Ayana Whitaker.  The Dons went on to win the frame 25-22 again with a finishing point off the hands of the seniors as Murtagh set up Terrell for the final point before halftime.

The third set was again started out with a point by the Lions but the Dons were undeterred as the team built an early 10-5 lead that grew to 19-12 after a de Vries attack was good for the point. Loyola Marymount managed to close the gap to 21-20 as the visitors went on a 4-0 run with Taylor Scioscia at the serve. The Dons  were able to close out the set and the match as Murtagh had one final trick up her sleeve to close out her Senior Day match – an ace.

"Oh boy, what a way to end," Murtagh said with a smile. "Serving is one of my favorite parts of the game. To end on an ace is the icing on the cake. With my entire family here, and to win in three, and to win how we did was great. I couldn't have picked it to end any better than this."

The Dons bid farewell to a senior class that made solid contributions on and off the court throughout their career on the Hilltop.

Kopilovitch leaves the program as one of the most prolific liberos in school history after amassing 1,377 digs in just three seasons wearing the Green and Gold. She stands in third on the career digs list and her 4.41 digs per set average is second on the all-time list. The 2012 WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year will finish with two of the top 10 seasons in USF history. Her achievements go beyond the court and into the classroom as well, as a two-time WCC All-Academic first team selection and a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.

Murtagh has become an integral part of directing the USF offense in her senior season totaling 611 assists to lead the Dons this year. In her four-year career, she has compiled 750 assists, 243 digs and 26 aces.

Swain, a defensive specialist for the Dons, led USF with 3.95 digs per set in 2010, and leaves the program with 516 total digs on the court. Along with her commitment to USF volleyball, Swain currently serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President.

Terrell leaves the Hilltop with 914 total kills, the 11th-best tally in school history. She was named to the 2011 All-WCC first team after leading the Dons with a .348 hitting percentage, which was good for third in the conference. Along with her stellar kill numbers, Terrell has compiled 186 total blocks and 224 digs for USF.

"Whitney, Becky, Malina and Mackenzie were in it together to lead the team, to stay together until the end," Doron reflected on the senior class. "It's set a great tone for everybody else and this team particularly needed that. It was their presence, their will, their energy on the court today that helped us throughout this year, and especially these last two matches."