ATHENS, Ga. – The San Francisco volleyball team rallied early to knot the match with the Benson Hospitality Invitational host Georgia Bulldogs before falling 3-1 on Saturday evening at the Ramsey Center.

After the successful first weekend in the Vicki Brown era, USF returns home with a 2-1 record, while Georgia rolled off three wins in the tournament to remain unscathed on the year.

The Dons' set victory over the Bulldogs came in the second, where USF (2-1)  put together an impressive .424 hitting percentage in the frame, paced by five kills for Emily Reed and four for Tyna Adamcikova with just three total hitting errors for the visitors. Reed led the way in the final match of the invitational, compiling 15 kills and a team-leading 17 points. Kate Ashman added 10 kills, and Adamcikova finished with nine on the night. Trish Koutsoukos assisted on 21 scoring plays and libero Kim Gutierrez dug out 18 balls to lead the USF defensive effort.

Two USF freshmen, Adamcikova and Koutsoukos, were rewarded for their efforts on the weekend with All-Tournament Team honors. Adamcikova compiled 28 kills, 20 digs four blocks, and three aces, while Koutsoukos led the Dons with 62 assists, or 5.64 per set in her first weekend of collegiate action.

The Dons fell behind early in the match but rallied back to tie the score at 10 apiece after a Georgia attack error. The Bulldogs reeled off a 9-3 run to again take the lead before closing out the frame with a score of 25-18 in favor of the home team.

USF rebounded in the second, jumping out to a 10-4 lead after Kate Ashman's attack off the pass from Montana Green capped a 7-1 run and forced Georgia to call a timeout. The Dons made it 20-13 after Gutierrez assisted on an Adamcikova kill. Despite a late rally by the Bulldogs, USF held on for the 25-21 win to tie the match heading into halftime.

Georgia came out strong and never trailed in the 25-16 third set victory, but the Dons were at the ready to begin the fourth. USF edged out to the early 5-3 advantage, but Georgia responded with a 7-1 run capped by a service ace for Katie Houser. USF scratched back to get within one after Marjolijn Oskam and Lavik combined for the stuff to set the score at 13-12 in favor of the Bulldogs, but the Dons could get no closer in the final frame.
Georgia finished with two double-digit kill performances from Maddie Lobenstein and Kendall Kazor, and Kazor helped on five of the Bulldogs' nine total team blocks.

USF now returns to the court at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, hosting the two-day San Francisco Invitational Sept. 2-3. The Dons take on Columbia and Indiana in the first day of competition, and face off against Princeton and Campbell in the final day of competition. Purchase tickets today >>