PORTLAND, Ore. — The University of San Francisco volleyball team earned its first road win of the season Saturday, snapping an eight-match losing streak against Portland with a 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20) West Coast Conference victory at the Chiles Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A short and seemingly insignificant (at the time) 5-2 spurt in the middle of the third set was the turning point in the match for San Francisco (7-19, 3-12 WCC). The Dons trailed Portland (11-15, 3-12 WCC) by one at 10-9 after their own service error gave the Pilots the lead. USF then got four kills from four different players – Kathya Garcia, Katie Wagstaff, Valeria Alegrias Cambindo and Emily Zinger – over the next seven points to take a two-point lead (14-12). The Dons wouldn't trail again for the rest of the afternoon, later using a 5-0 stretch to push their lead from two to seven at 23-17 on their way to a 25-20 third set victory and a 2-1 match lead.
   
• San Francisco never trailed in the fourth and deciding set, though Portland kept it close. The only time the Pilots trailed by more than three points, they responded with a 4-0 run to close their gap to just one at 20-19. But the Dons answered with their own 4-0 stretch to push the lead back to five, including back-to-back kills from Alegrias Cambindo. A block – one of 10 total team stops on the day – from Zinger and Orsula Staka was the final blow for the Dons in clinching the 3-1 win.
   
• The Dons came from behind in the first set to take a 1-0 match lead. Trailing 15-14 midway through, San Francisco blasted past Portland with an 11-2 run to grab the first frame, 25-17. The Dons forced eight Portland errors during the run, including two blocks from Alegrias Cambindo.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 2: Two Dons recorded double-doubles Saturday – the same ones who also had double-doubles Thursday at Gonzaga. Garcia posted 12 kills with 19 digs, and Ally Wada tallied a match-high 37 assists with 13 digs.
• 8: The Dons snapped an eight-game skid against the Pilots with the win Saturday. It was their first victory over Portland since Oct. 3, 2015, and their first win in Portland in more than six years (since Oct. 31, 2013), when they also won, 3-1.
• 74: The Dons collected 74 digs as a team, their eighth-most in a single match this season. San Francisco has had 70 or more digs in a match nine times this season.

COMING UP

• The Dons close out their season with three home matches, starting Thursday versus Loyola Marymount. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.