STOCKTON, Calif. – The University of San Francisco volleyball team (13-9, 6-4 WCC) concluded its two-match road swing with a win, defeating Pacific (14-9, 4-7 WCC) 3-2 Saturday afternoon at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Pacific came out of the gates fast, winning four of the first five points to take a 4-1 advantage. The Tigers continued to hold the momentum, ballooning their lead at the start of the frame to eight, 12-4, holding San Francisco to a negative hitting percentage.
• Facing set point in the back half of the first set 24-14, the Dons rattled off five straight points, highlighted by a Maria Petkova and Hayden Goodman service ace, to trim the Tigers' lead to 24-19.
• Pacific ended the frame shortly after, with Darina Kumanova recording a kill to give the Tigers a 25-19 first-set win.
• Petkova began the second set with a kill, giving San Francisco an early one-point lead, but Pacific posted a 5-0 run to take command at 5-1.
• After the Tigers bolstered their advantage to 9-3, the Dons responded with a 5-2 scoring run, forcing the Tigers into two attack errors to cut the deficit to 10-9.  
• Trailing 21-16 in the later stages of the frame, a Tiger service error and back-to-back kills from Astrid Puig brought the Dons back to within two, 21-19, forcing a Pacific timeout. The green and gold, extending the run to seven, gained its first lead of the set, 22-21, on a kill from Delaney Ewing.
• Trading the following three points to even the frame at 23, the Dons won the final two points with back-to-back kills from Rola to secure the second set, 25-23.
• Dropping four of the first five points to start the third, San Francisco fell into an early 4-1 hole. Keeping the frame within striking distance, the Dons battled back to grab an 8-7 lead following a solo block by Petkova.
• The two programs continued to go back and forth through the third set as five ties and three lead changes occurred in the following 25 points, as the frame remained deadlocked at 20.
• San Francisco gained the upper hand late, going up two, 24-22, on consecutive Pacific attack errors, and prevailed with a 26-24 win on a Puig service ace.
• Pacific dominated the fourth set, holding San Francisco to a .087 hitting percentage, and rolled to a 25-19 victory to force a deciding fifth set.
• In a highly competitive fifth set, the Tigers opened with a 5-2 advantage before a 4-0 scoring run gave the Dons their first lead of the final frame. Rola and Puig capped off the run offensively, recording a kill and a service ace to put the green and gold up 6-5.
• Despite narrowly trailing late, 12-11, Rola guided San Francisco with three kills, while the defensive front line forced Pacific into one final attack error to secure the fifth set and match, 15-13. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Rola nearly set a new career-high in kills as she recorded a season-best 20 throughout the five-set affair. Rola also posted her third-straight double-double, fourth overall this season, as she recorded 12 digs to help guide the Dons defensively.
• For the fifth time in the last seven matches, Petkova reached double figures in kills, recording 16 on a team-leading .289 hitting percentage.
• Defensively, the Dons totaled 11 blocks, posting double-digit team blocks for the fourth consecutive match. Petkova and Goodman led the frontline, totaling two solo blocks apiece, while Ewing and Puig combined for four block assists. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco returns to the Hilltop when it takes on Portland at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, in a West Coast Conference matchup at War Memorial at the Sobrato 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:
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SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor – Coca Cola – 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.