Dons Sweep Lions, Remain Undefeated in Conference Play

Saturday, October 5

San Francisco, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

10-5,3-0WCC

LMU

11-4,3-1WCC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
LMU (CA)	23	23	22	0
San Francisco	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Christina Leung

10/5/2024 4:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Gabby Rizzo

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – For the first time since the 2011 season, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (10-5, 3-0 WCC) begins West Coast Conference play with a 3-0 record as it defeated LMU (11-4, 3-1 WCC) in straight sets Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

LMU, the top team in the WCC coming into the afternoon, began the match fast, winning five of the first six points to gain a 5-1 advantage.
San Francisco quickly responded, using a 5-1 scoring run to tie the first set at six. The defense led the Dons throughout the run, as Hayden Goodman, Michalina Rola, and Maria Petkova recorded blocks.
Going back and forth later on, San Francisco trailed by two, 12-10, before LMU recorded five straight points to gain a commanding 17-10 lead. San Francisco showed resiliency and responded with a 4-0 scoring run from another Rola kill and block assist by Delaney Ewing and Petkova to trim the deficit to four, 17-14.
Trailing 21-16, the Dons began their comeback and finished the frame with a 9-2 scoring run, highlighted by two service aces from Goodman and a kill by Ewing to take the set 25-23.
The two teams exchanged points in the second set, with LMU holding a narrow advantage. San Francisco, keeping it close, trailed by no more than three points throughout and trailing 20-18, the Dons posted five straight to gain the lead, with kills by Goodman and Rola to put them ahead, 23-20.
Despite the Lions cutting the Dons' lead to one, 24-23 shortly after, Goodman put away the final point with a kill to end the frame at 25-23.
After dropping the first three points of the third set, the Dons went on a 5-1 run to grab their first lead. Astrid Puig began the scoring, logging two kills and a block assist to trim the deficit to 5-4. Gaining momentum, the Dons recorded five kills in a seven-point scoring run to take a 12-9 lead.
Late in the frame, the Lions tied it at 21, before the Dons took the last four out of five points with a solo block and a kill by Ewing, leading the green and gold to a 25-22 third-set win for their seventh straight-set win in the last nine matches.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

As a team, San Francisco totaled 11 blocks, reaching double-digit rejections for the seventh time this season. Goodman and Ewing led the front line with a match-high five, marking the
Goodman was also effective on the serve, posting three while Aylen Ayub added one.
Rola continued to be dangerous at the net as she recorded a team-high 10 kills and posted a .400 kill percentage.
Along with starting the conference slate with three straight wins for the first time since 2011, San Francisco posted its first sweep over LMU since defeating the Lions 3-0 at home on November 23, 2013.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full postgame interview with head coach Diogo Silva, please click here.
To view the gull postgame interview with Hayden Goodman and Michalina Rola, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco hits the road when it takes on Portland at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, at Chiles 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 – 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.