SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a back-and-forth five-set affair, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (12-7, 5-2 WCC) fell to Pacific (13-7, 3-5 WCC), 3-2, Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- San Francisco recorded the first three points of the match, forcing Pacific into two attack errors, while Jolei Akima posted a service ace for an early 3-0 advantage.
- Jenna Heller capped off a 5-1 scoring run for Pacific shortly after, giving the Tigers their first lead of the match at 5-4 with back-to-back service aces.
- The two programs continued to trade points throughout the remainder of the opening set, with the Tigers ultimately pulling ahead at the end of the frame. Margherita Giani ended the frame with a kill to edge the green and gold in the first set, 25-23.
- San Francisco answered in the second set, taking advantage early as kills from Michalina Rola and Delaney Ewing and a Hayden Goodman service ace highlighted the Dons' 5-2 scoring run to open the frame. The lead quickly ballooned to six as the offensive firepower from Maria Petkova, Astrid Puig, Rola, and Goodman guided the Dons to an 11-5 advantage.
- Despite Pacific winning the following three points to cut the deficit to three, 11-8, San Francisco remained in control, pushing the lead to 21-11 in the back half of the second set.
- Leading 23-15 later on, the Dons posted back-to-back blocks, highlighted by a solo attempt from Rola, to secure the second set, 25-15.
- Holding the momentum heading into the third set, the Dons used a late run to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Tied at 16, midway through the frame, the Dons recorded four of the next five points, accentuated by two Rola kills and blocks from Ewing and Aylen Ayub to take the lead, 20-17.
- Pacific battled back at the end of the frame to cut the San Francisco lead to one two separate times, 20-19 and 22-21 before the Dons won three straight points to earn a 25-21 third-set victory.
- The Tigers forced a deciding fifth set after running away in the fourth, winning the frame, 25-17. The programs traded points throughout the final set, with the Tigers securing the final two points to take the frame and match, 18-16.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Rola nearly matched her season high in kills as she recorded 18 throughout the five-set affair. Swinging at a .381 clip against the Tigers, Rola hit over .300 for the seventh time this season and only recorded two errors on 42 attempts.
- Petkova and Puig also reached double figures in kills, recording 14 and 10, respectively. Petkova also totaled her third double-double of the season, adding 16 digs.
- Posting a career performance, Akima totaled 34 digs during the match, the first time she has surpassed 30 digs in a match during her five-year career. Akima added three assists and a service ace to help guide the Dons offensively.
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SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor –
Nike - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact
Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.
