PROVO, Utah – Facing its top-ranked opponent in the 2014 campaign, the San Francisco volleyball team entered Smith Fieldhouse determined to put up a fight against No. 10 BYU. And fight, they did. The Dons took the first set from the Cougars in their last eight matches before falling 3-1 on Thursday night.

USF now stands at 9-6 (2-1 West Coast Conference) while the league-leading Cougars stand at 13-2 and remain unscathed in conference action with a mark of 4-0.

"We played a very good BYU team who was playing as good as you can expect them to play," said head coach Gilad Doron. "We got stronger in game two and were able to win game three with a great team effort and much improved offensive game. We've got to give credit to BYU tonight, and I am proud our team stay poised and didn't give up, fighting throughout the match. I hope we learn from this game and it is help us to be better prepared for the next challenge we face in conference play."

USF was paced by a 20-kill outing from Katarina Pilepic. Kiara McKibben racked up 34 assists, and Kim Gutierrez finished with a team-high seven digs. Valentina Zaloznik added eight kills and three blocks in the loss.

The Dons kept sets one and two tight for the first half, and even started each of the opening sets with the opening points as Pilepic got USF of the board. In the opening frame, the Dons gave up the lead a few points later as Tambre Nobles was at the serve. USF battled back to grab the 8-7 advantage in the set, but the lead was quickly vanquished. After a kill by Inbar Vinarsky, the score was tied at 9-9 when the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to open up a lead which was not relinquished.

The second set was similar in flow, and after BYU nabbed the lead on the service line, the Dons tied the frame at nine apiece after Zaloznik and Jessica Gaffney combined for the block. USF managed to keep the action close and remained within striking distance as Zaloznik's kill off the assist from McKibben set the score at 22-18 in favor of the home team. BYU would go on to take the set 25-18 and head into halftime up 2-0, a familiar position for the 10th-ranked Cougars.

In the third, the Dons produced their best set of the night, compiling a .400 hitting percentage, compared to BYU's .304. BYU led the set 8-7 when Anja Segota notched a kill to tie the score, and an ace by the senior from Pula, Croatia, gave the Dons the lead. USF would go on to build a 16-10 advantage with Zaloznik and Gaffney denied the attack from Amy Boswell. The Cougars got within one after Jennifer Hamson and Whitney Young combined for the block as USF's margin was cut to 19-18, but BYU could never overtake the Dons on the scoreboard. USF went on to win the frame 25-23 and give BYU its first set loss since Sept. 12, ending a string of seven-straight shutout matches for the Cougars.

In the fourth, the momentum swung to BYU as the home team closed out the action on a tear, hitting .778 in the frame, compared to USF's -.069 percentage. 

The Cougars, ranked fifth in the nation on the block, finished with 24 on the night, with Whitney Young leading the charge with 17 assisted. Hamson, 2013-14 All-American basketball player, added a team-high 18 kills on .607 hitting, along with 11 blocks to earn the double-double.

The Dons now travel to San Diego to take on the No. 23 Toreros. San Diego hosts USF fresh off a loss at the hands of Santa Clara, as both teams look to get back in the win column. First serve for Saturday's contest is slated for 12 p.m.