Dons Drop Five-Set Thriller at Saint Mary’s

Thursday, October 31

Moraga, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

12-9,5-4WCC

Saint Mary's

6-13,2-8WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
San Francisco	27	18	21	25	12	2
Saint Mary's (CA)	25	25	25	23	15	3

Photo by: Christina Leung

10/31/2024 9:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Gabby Rizzo

MORAGA, Calif. – Competing in its third straight five-set match, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (12-9, 5-4 WCC) fell at Saint Mary's (6-13, 2-8 WCC) 3-2 Thursday night at the University Credit Union Pavilion.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Jolei Akima set the tone at the start of the first set, recording a service ace to put San Francisco up 1-0. Building on the early lead, Maria Petkova tallied three kills later on to help propel the Dons to a 5-3 advantage.
Going back and forth later in the first set, a Saint Mary's service error knotted the frame at 15. Saint Mary's followed with a 5-0 scoring run, capped off by a Clarissa Klein kill to give the Gaels a commanding 20-15 lead.
Responding late, San Francisco battled back to tie the first set at 24, with three kills from Michalina Rola bringing the green and gold level. Fending off a Gaels' set point, the Dons pulled ahead with back-to-back kills from Astrid Puig to take the opening set, 27-25.
Exchanging points at the start of the second, Saint Mary's gained momentum and seized a narrow 10-8 lead after Kaliko Kealoha recorded a solo block.
San Francisco responded quickly, using a 5-2 run, highlighted by kills from Puig, Rola, and Hayden Goodman, to give the Dons a 13-12 advantage.
The Gaels remained steady and scored seven of the following eight points to jump in front, 19-14. The Gaels held the upper hand throughout the final 10 points, as the Dons failed to recover, winning 25-18 to even the match at a set apiece.
Saint Mary's continued to score at will, taking an early 5-1 lead to open the third set. San Francisco, however, bounced back, scoring four straight points, with two Petkova kills, to tie the frame at five.
Trading the following 22 points with the frame deadlocked at 16, the Gaels opened up a 22-16 lead with a 6-0 scoring run.
Despite late efforts by San Francisco as Puig recorded back-to-back service aces to cut the deficit to 24-21, an Abby Castillon kill secured the third set for Saint Mary's, 25-21.
In the fourth set, Saint Mary's took an early 4-1 lead before kills from Goodman, Rola, and Amelia Dombrowska, and stable defensive play guided San Francisco to a 7-6 advantage.
In a highly contested set, the green and gold, with the frame tied at 12, recorded four of the next five points to grab a three-point edge, 16-13.
Holding a 20-17 lead in the back half of the frame, San Francisco dropped three consecutive points, allowing Saint Mary's to even the frame at 20 after a service ace from Hailee Garcia.
Goodman secured the frame for the Dons with a kill, solidifying a 3-1 run for a 25-23 fourth-set victory.
The Dons trailed by three points, 3-0, at the start of the decisive fifth set, but two kills from Shannon Knight alongside an Amelia Dombrowska solo block directed San Francisco to a 6-5 lead. In a back-and-forth battle, the Dons tied the frame at 11 before the Gaels went on a 4-1 scoring run to take the set 15-12.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Three players reached double figures in kills as Rola led the Dons with 18. Rola also recorded her second straight double-double, third overall, totaling 10 digs.
Goodman and Puig also posted double-digit kill totals, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively.
Aylen Ayub posted 50 assists throughout the five-set match, reaching the 50-assist mark for the fourth time in her career.
Defensively, Akima led the backline with 18 digs while Goodman paced the team with five blocks.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco continues its stretch of road contests, facing off at Pacific at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

FOLLOW US:
For more information and updates on the University of San Francisco volleyball program, be sure to follow the Dons on Twitter @USFDonsVB, @USFDonsVB on Instagram and @USFDonsVball on Facebook.

MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor – Planet Orange – 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.