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:
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:
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MERCHANDISE:
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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.
