Box Score SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- The San Francisco Dons held off the Portland Pilots in three sets on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gym. Outside hitter Sarah Savoca led both sides with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .429.
 
San Francisco (15-3, 2-3 WCC) beat Portland (11-5, 1-3 WCC) with set scores of 25-20, 25-16, and 25-22.
 
The Dons went up early in the first set taking a 7-3 lead. Portland worked back into the set and a big kill by Makayla Lindburg closed the gap to two at 9-7. USF maintained the lead, but Savoca and Brittney Markwith teamed up on a block to pull the Pilots within one at 13-12. This sent the Dons on a five point run that created a gap that the Pilots could not close. Portland held off three set points before USF's Courtney Sabahi hit set point to give her team the first set win. Savoca tallied five kills in the first for the Pilots.
 
The two sides were point-for-point in the beginning of the second set, but with the set tied at six the Dons went on a run to take a four point lead. Emily Liger hit a kill down the line to close the lead to three at 10-7 and then a few points later Djurdjina Milovic served a three point run that narrowed the Don lead to two. USF regained the momentum and held off Portland through the rest of the set, and scored the last five points of the set to take the 2-0 match lead heading into the break.
 
Portland opened up the third set with a 4-1 run, but USF answered with a 4-1 run of their own to tie the set at five. The Dons then used a four point run to separate themselves from the Pilots and take the lead 12-8. USF kept the lead through the middle of the set, but the Pilots were able to close in on the Dons late. Lauren Naatz hit a service ace to bring the score to 23-21, which forced the home side to take a time out. The Pilots won the first point out the time out, but USF scored the next two to win the match.
 
The Pilots return home next week with a Thursday Oct. 8 match up with the Pepperdine Waves at 7:00 p.m.