USF suffered its second straight loss Saturday afternoon, dropping a four-game decision to Saint Mary's, 25-23, 30-28, 28-30 and 25-20.
 
The loss, USF's third in its last four matches, evens the Dons overall record at 11-11, but just 4-6 in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels, who avenge an earlier season loss to the Dons, have now won three of their last four matches to improve to 7-13 overall and 3-5 in the WCC.
 
USF was led by Valentina Zaloznik's 16 kills while sophomore Katarina Pilipec added 13. The Gaels were balanced across the board, as Rachel Gillcrest finished with 14 kills, Samantha Tinsley with 13, Clare Powers with 12 and Natalie Loos with 11.
 
USF setter Kiara McKibben finished with 46 assists.
 
The Dons hit .167 for the match while Saint Mary's managed a .203 percentage. The Gaels had the better of it at the net, finishing with 17 team blocks compare to USF's 11.
 
"Our communication and leadership was not good today," said head coach Gilad Doron. "We needed to take matters into our own hands but when it counted, we just weren't aggressive enough offensively or defensively. Saint Mary's made some good adjustments and seemed to want it more today. It was a typical WCC fight."
 
In game one, the Dons won seven of the first eight points to build a 7-1 lead out of the gates. USF's lead was 10-4 when Saint Mary's turned the momentum, winning nine of the next 12 points to tie the game at 13-13. The two teams weren't separated by more than two points the rest of the way. USF was hanging onto a 20-18 lead after a kill by Sara Staengle but back to back kills by Tinsely knotted the game at 20. Leading 24-23, the Gaels closed out game one as Powers blasted through the USF block for the game winner.
 
Game two was tightly contested as neither team was able to build more than a three point lead. The Dons held a 14-13 lead when the Gaels won the next four points to surge ahead 17-14. Trailing 24-21, USF fended off three match points and tied the game on a Jessica Gaffney kill. The Dons took a 25-24 lead after Zaloznik and Pilepic turned back a blast by Tinsely. The Dons missed four opportunities to put the game away. Leading 28-27, the Dons allowed the Gaels to score three straight points to complete the comeback, 30-28.
 
Game three followed a similar story line as game two only the ending was more favorable for the Dons. After falling behind 10-5 out of the games, USF roared back at take a 14-13 on a kill by Anja Segota, who registered seven of her nine kills in the game. USF trailed 24-23 only to keep the game alive by staving off three game points. Segota tied the game at 25 and a blast by Zaloznik gave USF a 26-25 lead. After the Gaels reclaimed the lead, 28-27 on an ace by Alexis Salmons, the Dons won the next three points to win the game 30-28, forcing a fourth game.
 
In game four, the Dons spotted Saint Mary's a 13-4 lead and could only manage to creep to within three points at 19-16. Saint Mary's closed out the game and the match when Gaffney was denied at the net by Rachel Gillcrist and Natalie Loos.
 
USF will face stiff tests at home next week, playing host to San Diego on Thursday and BYU on Saturday