Watch Day 2 Highlights
SAN FRANCISCO-- The San Francisco Invitational came to a dramatic end Saturday evening as the Dons nearly completed a five set comeback thriller over Campbell. After dropping their first match against Princeton, USF came back from two sets down against the Camels to force a deciding set- but ultimately fell in a hard fought five setter (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 26-28, 15-11).
The All-Tournament team was announced tonight, and freshman outside hitter Tyna Adamcikova was named by the coaches as a member of the team. The first year pin hitter collected 54 kills and led the Dons' offense in three of the four matches in the two day invitational. Adamcikova now leads USF with 82 kills (3.15 K/Set) and is second in digs with 39.
San Francisco All-Tournament Team:
Allison Hammond- Indiana
Taylor Lebo- Indiana
Brittany Ptak- Princeton
Devon Peterkin- Princeton
Tyna Adamcikova- USF
Kayla Schanback- Campbell
Most Outstanding Player: Allison Hammond
USF vs. Princeton
The Dons opened the second day with a struggle against the Princeton Tigers. USF recorded four kills on 26 attempts while the Tigers tallied 13 kills and hit .440 en route to an opening set victory.
The rest of the match proved to be a tough fight, as neither team could distance themselves. In the second game, USF got on the board early due to the excellent defense and service game of freshman defensive specialist Camille Araujo. The 5-7 defender opened the set with two consecutive impressive digs and a service ace to help the Dons to a 2-0 lead. The Dons extended their lead with back-to-back kills from Adamcikova and an error from the Tigers. Despite the early momentum, the visiting Tigers stormed back with four consecutive points to take the lead. Down five set points, USF fought back with a kill from senior Emily Reed and consecutive aces from junior Kim Gutierrez to cut the Tigers' lead to two. Princeton eventually regrouped and got the second set, 25-22.
All tied up in the third frame, 6-4 middle blocker Marjolijn Oskam made an explosive block in the middle of the floor to give USF a 5-4 lead. Down by four later in the set, the young Dons went on a 5-1 run to tie the match late in the set. Princeton never relinquished the lead the rest of the way and claimed the three set win over USF.
USF vs. Campbell
Senior Emily Reed had a career night after recording a double-double for the Dons. The Sunnyvale, Calif. native had career highs in kills (18), total attacks (57) and digs (10)
The first set consisted of runs from both teams, but the Dons eventually dropped a 25-20 decision to Campbell. In the first game, USF faced a 19-13 deficit, but remained gritty and cut the Camels lead to three after a 4-1 run. In the mini run, Adamcikova displayed her textbook line drive kill and once again delivered a solo block to help USF get within three. Despite the comeback, Campbell delivered an opening set win over the Dons.
The second set shared similarities to the first as the Dons could not capture the frame to tie the match. The Dons hit .138 for the set and could not overcome errors throughout the second game.
With their backs against the wall, USF battled and displayed their mental toughness with a 25-23 win in the third set. Both teams answered each other's calls as neither could muster a lead larger than two points. Tied at 19 all, USF captured the one point lead off Adamcikova's 10th kill of the match. The Camels would then go up 22-21, but yet again, the freshman outside hitter from Opava, Czech Republic, delivered a thunderous kill to tie the match. After a long rally with quick digs from Kim Gutierrez and freshman setter Trish Koutsoukos, USF got a kill from junior Nora Buvarp Lavik for the potential set point. With Gutierrez serving, the Dons got on the board off an ace from the junior.
The fourth set would not get easier for USF, as the squad would fall behind by as many as five points in the middle of the frame. The Dons would go on an impressive 8-1 run highlighted by back-to-back service aces from Adamcikova and five kills from pin hitter Emily Reed to go up, 23-19. After a run from Campbell, the Camels captured a match point, but Reed capitalized with a clutch kill to notch things at 25 all. After a series of exchanges and excellent defense by the Dons, the green and gold pulled through to force a deciding set after a 28-26 victory.
The deciding game would continue the back-and-forth action as both teams would reel off runs of three unanswered points. Down 10-7, USF would get back with its defense- causing two straight attack errors from the Camels. The Dons showcased true grit and fight, but were unable to capture the five set comeback victory, as Campbell escaped with a 15-11 decision in the fifth set.
USF will begin preparations for next week's San Francisco Challenge- which will take place on Sept. 9-10 and play host to St. John's, Brown and UC Santa Barbara.
