Box Score SAN FRANCISCO - USF gave the nation's eighth-ranked team all it could handle on Saturday but San Diego ultimately prevailed in five sets at Memorial Gymnasium.
San Diego won by the game scores of 25-18, 27-25, 26-24, 25-23 and 15-10 to improve to 21-3 overall and 13-2 in the West Coast Conference. With the loss, USF drops to 11-13 overall and 7-7 in the WCC.
Freshman
Katarina Pilepic paced the Dons with 21 kills and a .341 hitting percentage while junior
Valentina Zaloznik added 17 kills. The two players were also a force at the net, combining for 15 blocks against a potent San Diego offense.
Senior
Malina Terrell finished with 12 kills.
San Diego's Chole Ferrari finished with a match high 22 kills in 44 attempts for a .386 hitting percentage while Alaysia Brown added 15.
The Toreros outhit the Dons, .207 to .196 and held a slight advantage at the nets, recording 14 team blocks to USF's 12.
USF was on the brink of one of its biggest wins in school history and certainly one of the biggest upsets of the college volleyball season. Leading 2-1 in the match and 21-19 in the fourth set, San Diego reeled off five straight points to seize momentum and eventually send the match to a fifth game, 25-23.
San Diego got off to a fast start in the fifth set, building an 8-4 lead. The Dons trimmed the lead to one at 9-8, only to see the Toreros run off three straight points to take a 12-8 lead. USF was unable to get closer than three points down the stretch as the Toreros claimed the match with a 15-10 victory in game five.
After dropping the first set 25-18, the Dons staged comebacks in the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match much to delight of the afternoon crowd in Memorial Gym.
USF trailed 16-12 in game two but won eight of the next 12 points to force a 20-20 tie. USF took a 22-21 lead when a San Diego attack went wide. The set was tied at 24-24 and 25-25 when the Dons won two consecutive points to even the match.
The Toreros were holding a 23-18 lead in game four but saw the Dons win six of the next seven points to force a tie at 24 all. Trailing 24-20, Pilepic slammed three straight kills to draw the Dons with within one and USF tied the set at 24 when a San Diego potential game-winning attack sailed wide.
USF took a 25-24 lead when Zaloznik and Terrell turned back a San Diego attack at the net and one the game on the next point on a Torero misfire past the endline.
Game four was tightly contested with the two teams never separated by more than three points. With game tied at 18, the Dons won three of the next four points to build a 21-19 lead. However, USF miscues coupled with a strong net presence helped the Toreros win five straight points to take a 24-21 lead.
The Dons closed to within one after a Pilepic kill and a USD net violation but Brown closed out the set with a winner down the line to send the match to a deciding fifth game, which the Toreros won, 15-10.
While disappointed with the result, USF head coach
Gilad Doron was pleased with the effort of his team that narrowly missed sending shock waves through the national volleyball circles.
"We made two incredible come backs in games two and three," said Doron. "Not all of our girls had their best days but we fought really hard. That's all we can take right now, unfortunately, but we wanted more than that. Given where we are today and the health of our team, this was a pretty good showing today.
"Pilepic is a force for us when she is on and we have to use her the most we can. She stayed positive today and was really on. We needed one more player to step up but San Diego is an incredible team. We are pretty close and if we keep our minds together we'll be able to beat some teams down the stretch."
USF will return to action on Thursday when it travels to Stockton to take on Pacific. The Dons will return to the Bay Area for a Saturday matinee at Saint Mary's.
