USF Downs Two More to Move to 8-0

Saturday, March 12

Sacramento, Calif.

1 p.m.

University of San Francisco

Sacramento State

Photo by: Stephanie Trapp

3/12/2016 5:30:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The No. 13 San Francisco beach volleyball team continues to roll through the opening weeks of the season unscathed, picking up a pair of wins at the Sacramento Softball Complex on a rainy Saturday.

The Dons (8-0) started the day with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Bay Area and WCC foe Santa Clara. USF fell behind at the outset, dropping the match at No. 5, but tied it up after Jessica Gaffney and Kiara McKibben rallied for an 18-21, 21-18, 17-15 win over Lacey Maas and Jensen Cunningham. USF edged out to the match lead after Emily Reed and Courtney Sabahi used a decisive 15-3 third set to pick up the point in favor of the Green and Gold. The Dons clinched the team win at No. 2 when Katarina Pilepic and Jurja Vlasic dispatched their opponents in straight sets.

In the afternoon match with the sky opening up to drench the courts even more, USF turned back Sacramento State 4-1, taking wins in the Nos. 1 through 4 positions. Oluoma Okaro and Sara Staengle bounced back from a tough three-set loss in the morning session to rebound with the 21-17, 21-9 over the Hornets top pairing of Sloan Lovett and Maddie Cannon to earn the point and cap off the afternoon. USF's exhibition pairing of Jessica Keenan and Dane Miller also picked up wins on the sand in Sacramento, notching two victories on the day.

USF, ranked No. 13 in the latest DiG Magazine, looks to keep its undefeated record intact on Tuesday in another pair of matches. First, the Dons take on the host squad from California at 10 a.m., in Berkeley. Then, USF wraps up the day against Pacific. The Dons won the first matchup of the season against the Tigers, earning the 3-2 win over the then-No. 16 team to open the year.

No. 13 USF 3, Santa Clara 2
No. 1 – Clayton/Mead (SCU) def. Okaro/Staengle (USF); 21-15, 22-24, 15-12
No. 2 – Pilepic/Vlasic (USF) def. Rottman/Hess (SCU); 21-17, 21-18
No. 3 – Reed/Sabahi (USF) def. Vaccano/Inch (SCU); 21-19, 16-21, 15-3
No. 4 – Gaffney/McKibben (USF) def. Maas/Cunningham (SCU); 18-21, 21-8, 17-15
No. 5 – Shepherd/Dutra (SCU) def. Murtagh/Gutierrez (USF); 23-21, 21-12
Exh. – Keenan/Miller (USF) def. Lindsberg/San Juan (SCU); 23-21, 21-18

No. 13 USF 4, Sacramento State 1
No. 1 – Okarao/Staengle (USF) def. Lovett/Cannon (SAC); 21-17, 21-9
No. 2 – Pilepic/Vlasic (USF) def. Stanley/Boyle (SAC); 21-16, 21-14
No. 3 – Reed/Sabahi (USF) def. Skalbeck/Aikels (SAC); 21-9, 21-18
No. 4 – Gaffney/McKibben (USF) def. Brown/Meadows (SAC); 21-18, 21-19
No. 5 – Noceth/Wright (SAC) def. Murtagh/Gutierrez (USF); 21-17, 19-21, 15-11
Exh. – Keenan/Miller (USF) def. Takeda/Gathright (SAC) 21-19, 21-19