STOCKTON, Calif. – The San Francisco volleyball team entered the Alex G. Spanos Center looking for its first victory in program history in Stockton. After playing a duel for the ages, the Dons exit the same way after suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Tigers.

The five-setter, USF's first in the 2015 season was tightly contested throughout, featuring 54 tie scores and 20 lead changes throughout the night. The final two frames went to extra points, and in the fifth set the squads had five match-point opportunities before the Tigers held on for the victory.

The Dons (13-2, 0-3 WCC) were paced by a pair of double-double performances, as Katarina Pilepic compiled a team-high 17 kills and 11 digs, and Kiara McKibben notched the 21-assist, 13-dig double-double.

McKibben, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., also improved her standing in the USF record book in career assists. In the first set, she dished to Courtney Sabahi for the point to record her 1,747th career assist to leap to ninth all-time.

Also coming up big for the Dons was sophomore Oluoma Okaro's 12 kills, including four in the fourth set, and six blocks. Jurja Vlasic paced the team in assists adding 24 to the scoresheet for the Dons. Kim Gutierrez finished with 18 digs in the loss, scrambling for six balls in the must-win fourth frame.

USF got off to a quick start in the first set, building a 5-1 lead with Madison Murtagh at the serve. The Tigers (11-3, 2-1 WCC) chipped away at the advantage and nabbed the lead with the score at 10-9 after back-to-back blocks from the Pacific front line. The frame stayed tight throughout, with neither team building more than a two point advantage until late in the set. The Tigers finished on a five-point run with Mia Feiner at the service line to take the 25-19 win.

In the second set, the Dons played from behind for much of the way but well within striking distance. Maycie LaBass' eighth kill of the night gave the Tigers their largest lead of the evening with the score at 19-15. But USF was ready to turn on the offense. The Dons scored four straight to knot the frame at 19 apiece, and USF held the 22-20 lead after an ace from Jessica Keenan. After Pacific made it a stalemate at 23-all, Sabahi powered the kill to LaBass for the point, and Vlasic and Murtagh teamed up on the block to cap the set at 25-23.

The Dons and Tigers continued to joust in the back and forth battle after halftime, with the score in the third tied at 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17 apiece. USF appeared to gain the upper-hand in momentum when LaBass' attack went long and Pacific was forced to call a timeout with the score at 19-17. But the Tigers regrouped with three unanswered points to edge out to a lead. Then Pacific finished off the frame with five unanswered, capped by an ace from Alicja Wilk to take the set, 25-20.

The fourth set was again a see-saw battle, with Pacific owning a 16-12 lead after Sabahi's attack sailed long. USF strung together five in a row with Pilepic at the serve to nab the 17-16 lead, but the set was far from over. The score saw knotted seven more times in the frame, as the Tigers continued to force extra points after USF had two chances at set point. After the final tie at 26-26, Okaro swung for the USF lead and on the ensuing play, Pilepic took advantage of the set from Sara Stangle to win the frame 28-26 and force a decisive fifth set.

It was the first full-set match of the season for the Dons, and USF sped out of the gates building the 4-1 lead after Murtagh's serve could not be returned. Pacific saw its first lead after Pilepic's ball missed the mark to put the score at 9-8. The Dons would rally back and back-to-back kills from Okaro off the assist from Vlasic gave USF its first chance to close the match as the score at 14-13 in favor of the Dons.

A Pacific timeout was called, and the home team answered with the point from LaBass, quickly followed by a cross-court attack that sailed wide to give the Dons their second try at the clinch. Consecutive points for the Tigers forced a USF timeout, and after the break Staengle responded with the kill to make it 16-16. Three points later on the fifth match-point attempt on the night, Lexi Elman recorded her 26th kill of the match to ice the frame at 19-17 in favor of the Tigers and send the Dons home still seeking their first victory in West Coast Conference action.

Next up, the Dons return home to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym to compete against Gonzaga on Thursday at 7 p.m.