LOS ANGELES – The San Francisco volleyball team nearly pulled off an upset of No. 24 Loyola Marymount Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion before falling in five sets at the hands of the Lions.

The Dons were paced by 19 kills and eight digs from sophomore Katarina Pilepic. Anja Segota, a senior from Pula, Croatia, added 13 kills on .281 hitting and eight digs off the bench. Freshman libero Kim Gutierrez finished with a match-high 24 digs, and sophomore Kiara McKibben assisted on 50 plays for the Dons. She also added 11 digs to pick up her team-high eighth double-double and served up four aces on the night.

"I thought we played together as a team throughout the match, and created opportunities for us to win the match," said head coach Gilad Doron. "We have to give credit to LMU, the 24th team in the nation, for how they played as well. I thought both teams battled hard in a great WCC match and I am very proud of how we responded tonight. I am looking forward to seeing how we bounce back on Saturday at Pepperdine and I think we can imporve on a few things we have been working on."

Despite being held to .178 hitting offensively, the Dons were stout on the block, holding a 15 to 13 advantage at the net. For USF, the tally is a team-high through seven conference matches. Three women recorded at least six total blocks, led by Pilepic's seven, including two solo stuffs. Valentina Zaloznik and Inbar Vinarsky added six blocks apiece. Nine of USF's 15 denials came in the second and third sets, both won by the Dons.

Loyola Marymount, ranked 24th in the latest AVCA polls, improves to 17-2 on the year and 5-2 in WCC action while USF moves to 10-9 (3-4 WCC) after the road loss.

The hotly-contested battle was close from the outset, with USF and Loyola Marymount playing to a 17-17 tie in the first set after Zaloznik notched one of her nine kills on the night. However, the Lions would score eight straight to take the opening frame 25-17.

In the second set, the Dons edged out to an 11-7 advantage after Segota's attack went down for the point. USF maintained the lead at 15-11 before the Lions reeled off the next four points in the match to force a timeout from Doron. After the break, the Dons regained the advantage but the set continued in see-saw fashion. With the score knotted at 19-all, Segota broke the tie in favor of the Dons. USF went on to close the frame with a 6-1 run. The duo of Pilepic and Vinarky combined on the block for two of the final three points as the Dons took the set 25-20 to even the score heading into halftime.

The Dons led from the outset of the third set, holding a 16-12 lead after a Zaloznik drive. Loyola Marymount would battle back for the lead with Avery Bush at the service line. The Lions service specialist recorded back-to-back aces, and notched a third to tie the set at 19-19. Following another ace, the Dons staved off a set-point try by the Lions with the score at 25-24 and back-to-back kills by Pilepic gave USF the lead in the match.

The fourth set was again a battle from the outset with ties at 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 points. Then Loyola Marymount put together a string of four straight points, again with back-to-back service aces this time off the hand of Sarah Sponcil. USF could not recover the lead as the Lions took the frame 25-19.

USF fell behind early in the decisive fifth set, beginning the action down 5-1. With Gutierrez at the serve, the Dons regrouped to knot the score at 5-5 after a Pilepic slam. USF again tied the set at nine apiece off a ball from Jessica Gaffney, but Loyola Marymount ran off six of the next seven points to escape with the win.

A trio of Lions finished with double-digit kill tallies, led by Litara Keil's 19 kills on .333 hitting. Loyola Marymount finished with nine aces, compared to USF's six, outdug the Dons 70 to 63 and finished wth the .240 to .178 hitting advantage.

Next, USF heads to Malibu, Calif., to meet up with Pepperdine. The Dons are still seeking its first win in a true road game away from the Hilltop

Despite the Waves' 52-6 all-time series lead, the Dons are looking to extend their current streak over Pepperdine to four. First serve from Firestone Fieldhouse is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.