USF women’s volleyball sought to end a seven-game losing streak while the USF men’s and women’s tennis teams hosted twenty-three Division I schools in their annual Battle in the Bay Classic. Here is your recap of the week in Dons’ sports.
USF women’s volleyball welcomed the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Tritons to the Hilltop Sept. 17. Though the team battled until the very end, the Dons fell to the Tritons by a score of 2-3.
The Tritons took control of the first set, but a kill from right side Taylor Schein brought the Dons within four points (11-15). UCSD responded with a 10-3 run, and the Dons dropped the first set by a score of 14-25. Both sides traded points in the second set, but USF was on the wrong end of another run that had the team staring at an 8-16 deficit. The Tritons gradually secured another victory (19-25), and the Dons were on the verge of being swept by their opponents.
Feeling the pressure, the Dons recorded five unanswered points in the third set, including an ace by outside hitter Lana Kutakhina. In the closing moments of the third set, Schein delivered yet another kill to finally put the Dons on the board (25-12) and keep the team from being swept. Midway through the fourth set, USF went on a 6-2 run that helped them win the set (25-20) and tie the game at two sets each. Unfortunately for the Dons, the Tritons found their offensive groove in the last set and downed the Dons by a score of 8-15, putting a stop to USF’s momentum.
Looking ahead, the Dons will begin West Coast Conference play Sept. 23 when they host the Pepperdine University Waves.
USF men’s and women’s tennis hosted and competed in the Battle in the Bay Classic Sept. 16-19. In the men’s singles main draw, Mitch Johnson was eliminated in the round of 32 by Timothy Sah of the Stanford University Cardinal. Phuc Huynh also made his exit in the round of 32 when he was defeated by Andrew Rogers of the Pepperdine University Waves (5-7, 2-6).
In the men’s doubles main draw, Huynh and Nil Giraldez were eliminated in the round of 16 by the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, losing to the tune of 2-8. Johnson and sophomore Stevie Gould were also sent packing in the round of 16, losing to the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears (1-8).
In the women’s singles main draw, Chiho Mushika was eliminated in the round of 32 after she lost to Maria Campos of the University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes (3-6, 1-6). Maria Martinez Vaquero advanced to the round of 16 with a straight set victory over Roxana Manu of the University of Kansas Jayhawks (6-1, 7-5). Rita Colyer also punched her ticket to the round of 16 with an epic three-set victory against Isabelle Lee of the University of Southern California Trojans (6-3, 4-6, 10-5). Martinez Vaquero lost in the round of 16 to Abigail Desiatnikov of the University of San Diego Toreros (2-6, 3-6), Colyer was also eliminated in the round of 16 after a straight-set defeat at the hands of the Toreros’ Victoria Kalaitzis (2-6, 0-6).
In the women’s doubles main draw, Mushika and Martinez Vaquero made it through the round of 16, beating the University of the Pacific Tigers (8-7), while Colyer and Arianna Capogrosso routed the Trojans (8-4). Mushika and Martinez were quickly eliminated by the University of Georgia Bulldogs (0-8), and Colyer and Capogrosso also exited the quarterfinals after being beaten by the Waves (2-8).
