University of San Francisco Athletics

Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO –The gritty San Francisco women's volleyball team pushed Long Beach State to a fifth set before dropping the match 3-2 to perennial powerhouse Long Beach State at War Memorial Gym Friday night.

USF was led by Malina Terrell's 19 kills and 30 assists by Mackenzie Murtagh. Sara Staengle and Inbar Vinarsky both have five total blocks apiece and Valentina Zaloznik served up three aced to lead the Dons. Senior Rebecca Kopilovitch posted a match-high 23 digs. She now stands at 1,049 career digs, good for sixth in the all-time USF record books, and 11 away from moving up to fifth.   

After falling behind two sets to one, the Dons roared back in the third to drub the 49ers 25-9. USF jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the set, and grew the lead to 17-5 after an Anja Segota kill down the line with an assist from Kiara McKibben punctuated a 5-0 run. A Segota slam closed the set and punctuated a 7-1 run to energize the crowd at War Memorial Gym.

"It's always good to come back after the first tournament was away and being home with a lot of people here which we didn't expect that much," Zaloznik said. "We really wanted to bring the first win home tonight and we didn't quite get it, but there's still two games left tomorrow. It's our home court – we're going to fight. Everyone is putting 110 percent effort in to get wins."

USF fell behind early in set four before gutsy play evened the match at two sets apiece. The score was knotted at 9-9 and again at 18-18. Terrell pounded a ball down the line for a USF point followed by a solo block by Vinarsky that gave the Dons their first advantage of the set at 20-19. After Long Beach State regained the lead, USF's Katarina Pilepic pounded a kill to tie the set at 23 apiece. The score was yet again even at 24-24 after another Pilepic point for the Dons. A setting error by the 49ers forced head coach Brian Gimmilllaro to take a timeout and yet again, the freshman Pilepic came up big in the clutch to close the fourth set 26-24.

USF fell behind in the decisive fifth set before again scrapping to the lead as Terrell's two straight kills gave the Dons a 9-8 lead with McKibben at the serve. After a 9-9 tie, McKibben's attack to the middle of the court sparked a furious attempt by the 49ers to continue the rally, to no avail. However, the Dons gave up the final six points of the night as Long Beach State won the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Despite the slow start to the season, Terrell, a senior from Richmond, Calif., is still focused achieving the end goal of making the NCAA Tournament.

"We have the mindset to win, and that's one thing I love about my team this year," she said after the tough five-set loss. "Everybody is in it, everybody has a drive to win, everybody is bought in this year and we've all got the same goal. I have no doubt that we're going to get there, no doubt at all. I have so much trust and faith in my teammates and we're ready to take USF volleyball to another level. This is a new culture of play for USF."

The Dons will continue in the Bay Area Challenge with two Saturday matches. USF takes on Air Force at 11 a.m., with the Falcons facing Miami at 1 p.m., and the Dons closing the night against the Hurricanes at 7 p.m.