DENVER — Sophomore setter Ally Wada notched her sixth career double-double and senior outside hitter Kathya Garcia started right where she left off in 2018 with a match-high 13 kills, as the University of San Francisco volleyball team kicked off the 2019 season with a hard-fought match at defending Summit League champion and NCAA Tournament team Denver, falling 3-1 (25-14, 25-17, 25-27, 25-22), at Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Denver (1-0) never trailed in either of the first two sets as it jumped out to a 2-0 match lead. The Pioneers didn't even face a tie score in the first set. San Francisco (0-1) stayed much closer in the early goings of the second, but an 8-3 run midway through turned a three-point set into a 20-12 spread.
   
• Denver was on its way to wrapping things up for a 3-0 sweep, again not trailing to start the third and getting out to a 19-13 lead. That's when the Dons exploded with momentum.
   
• Four consecutive points on two kills, a service ace and a Denver error made it a two-point set, and three more on another kill, another ace and another Pioneers error gave USF its first lead of the match at 22-21. It would end up being an 11-3 run that put San Francisco on the brink of a set victory at 24-22, but Denver scored back-to-back points and the teams were locked at 24-24. The Dons had four set points in the third before finally clinching the 27-25 set victory on a Denver attack error.
   
• The Dons' momentum carried into the fourth as it was their turn to not trail deep into the set. USF led 16-9 with only three tie scores early and was eyeing evening the match at two sets apiece. But the Pioneers turned the tables, going on a similar run the Dons had in the previous set to get back into it.
   
• A 10-2 run gave Denver its first lead of the fourth at 19-18. San Francisco came back with a kill from Garcia and Anna Dalla Vecchia's second ace of the match to lead 22-21, but the Pioneers scored each of the final four points of the set on a USF serving error, an ace of their own, a kill from Ari Winters and a match-ending block by Winters and Tina Boe.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• .318: Sophie Sydenham started 2019 on target, hitting over .300 with nine kills on 22 swings in her first match as a sophomore. Last year, she had three matches hitting over .300 with at least five kills, but none after Sept. 20.
• 3: Three of the Dons' four newcomers made their USF debuts Friday. Freshman setter Grace Talpash made her first career start in her first collegiate match, junior outside hitter Valeria Alegrias Cambindo had six kills, three digs and two blocks, and junior defensive specialist Erin Fujitani played on the back line.
• 13: Garcia tied for the match lead with 13 kills Friday. She ended 2018 with 12 kills against Pacific. She added four digs, two assists, an ace and a block for an all-around performance.

COMING UP

• The Dons wrap up the Denver Classic with two matches Saturday. They take on Seattle at 9 a.m. PDT, then face Southern Mississippi at 3 p.m. PDT, both neutral site matches at Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium. Live coverage links can be found on USFDons.com.