Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Gonzaga volleyball team traveled to San Francisco to begin their West Coast Conference slate, falling to the Dons in three sets, 9-25, 21-25, 19-25.
 
THE ACTION
First Set – San Francisco, 25-9

• San Francisco (7-6) picked up an early 7-0 lead as Hayden Goodman and Karolina Nova each recorded a pair of kills. Tyra Schuab and Zoe Thiros provided offense to get Gonzaga (3-9) on the board and stop the early Dons run.
• USF continued to roll in the first, reaching a 15-3 lead after their second 7-0 run of the set. Maggie Rickert came in and immediately contributed for the Zags, picking up back-to-back kills. Juliette Russell added a pair of her own, but GU still trailed by ten, 17-7.
• The Dons completed a dominant first set with an 8-2 run to take a 1-0 match lead.

Second Set – San Francisco, 25-21

• The Bulldogs struck first in the second set on a Nia Damuni ace. Grace Ehler paired with Russell for a stop at the net, and Russell followed with two consecutive kills to put the Zags up 5-3.
• Jody Smith joined in, picking up her first kill and block of the night. Alisa Kim sandwiched a Thiros kill with a pair of service aces to fuel a 5-0 GU run and force a USF timeout, leading 11-6.
• Thiros continued her barrage, picking up three kills in four rallies to bring her match total to five and give the Zags a 14-8 lead. Ehler and Russell picked up their second combo block of the set, and Larson pitched in a kill as Gonzaga had their biggest lead of the set, 16-9.
• San Francisco responded with a roaring 9-1 run to regain an 18-17 lead. Maria Petkova recorded five kills as the Dons continued to lead 22-20. Smith picked up her second kill of the set to try and spark a Zag rally, but the USF hot streak carried them to a 25-21 win in Set Two.

Third Set – San Francisco, 25-19

• Russell notched her team-leading sixth and seventh kills, and Schaub picked up her third as GU led 3-1 early in Set Three. The Zags and Dons traded blows, with Damuni picking up a dump to knot the score at 6-6.
• Set Three remained close as it approached the halfway point, with neither team gaining more than a singe point advantage. Kim's third ace of the match gave Gonzaga a brief 13-12 lead, but Kennedy Muckelroy answered with a kill to bring the set to its 11th tie. GU entered the media timeout with a 15-13 lead after a Smith kill and Russell ace.
• Smith continued to heat up on offense, picking up her fourth kill. Once again, the Dons responded to tie the set at 16. Thiros' eighth kill gave the Zags the edge, but back-to-back USF points gave them their first lead since 12-11. Their third consecutive point forced GU to take a timeout, trailing 19-17.
• The Bulldogs, facing a two point deficit, got a spark from Thiros' ninth kill and the second block pairing from Russell and Thompson. Still, the Dons continued to pull away, as a 5-0 run sealed the third set and 3-0 sweep.

 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga finishes up their trip to the Bay Area in a matinee match on Saturday at Santa Clara. The Bulldogs and Broncos will square off inside the Leavey Center at 1 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.GoZags.com
Twitter: @ZagVolleyball
Instagram: @zagvolleyball
Facebook: /ZagVolleyball