RENO, Nev. – With another balanced offense approach, the Nevada Wolf Pack (2-1) took down the San Francisco Dons (1-3) Tuesday night three sets to one (25-19, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21).
Freshman
Kayla Afoa played the best game of her young career, digging a total of 24 balls, a match high by half of that. The Wolf Pack was also able to spread the love on the offensive side of the ball as sophomores
Ayla Fresenius (10) and
Shayla Hoeft (15) and senior
Madison Foley (11) all recorded at least 10 kills. Hoeft's 15 kills was the most of any player in the match.
"I had the opportunity to go in and just dig so I took advantage of it," Afoa said. "The blockers were also super helpful. They were really in the right spot tonight."
While the early stages of the first set stayed close, the Pack was able to keep the Dons at comfortable two and three point leads. Nevada was able to build a lead, up 18-12, before the Dons cut it to 18-15 to force the Wolf Pack timeout. Nevada got the momentum right back, though, taking the first set 25-19.
There wasn't much of a lead for either team in the second set as both teams found themselves tied up by the 15th point. Nevada would eventually find its advantage at 22-20, although the Dons would tie it back up at 23-23. Fans at Virginia Street Gym got some free volleyball as the set went into extra points, but Nevada would come out on top 27-25.
The Dons were able to come back in set three to claim their first frame of the match 25-23. Although the Pack had the lead after hitting 20 points, Nevada just wasn't able to hang on to close out the match.
Set four was a roller coaster one. Nevada went up by as much as 6-1, holding onto the lead for the vast majority of the frame. USF was able to make a late run in the match, however, tying it up at 17 and again at 19. The Dons would score just two more points, however, as Nevada took the final set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
Nevada now hits the road for three matches at Gonzaga, facing the 'Zags, Portland State and Arizona State across Friday and Saturday.
