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Jeff Nelson Collects 200th Win as USF Volleyball Rolls Past Portland 3-0 in WCC Play
Nov. 7, 2004
(San Francisco) - USF volleyball collected their second straight victory with a West Coast Conference sweep against visiting Portland and helped their head coach reach a career milestone in the process. The Dons took a 31-29, 30-17, 33-31 win Saturday night at War Memorial Gym in the 200th career victory for Jeff Nelson. San Francisco (11-16, 4-7 WCC) completes the season series sweep against the Pilots (11-16, 1-10 WCC) with their fifth straight win against the school.
Senior outside hitter Stephanie Voelckers continued her monster weekend for the Dons, recording a match-high 20 kills on .311 hitting to go along with 13 digs. For the weekend, the Hamburg, Germany native recorded 47 kills and 29 digs in back-to-back wins against Gonzaga and Portland.
Sophomore outside hitter Theresa Hart turned in a great match for USF with 16 kills nine digs and a pair of service aces, while junior middle blocker KeLicia Shorts added 10 kills on .333 hitting to go along with six blocks. Junior opposite hitter Jencie Lejeune added nine kills and five blocks.
Sophomore setter Jamie Kartchner dished out 53 assists and added seven digs and vaulted into third place on the single-season assists record books, standing at 1,255 on the year after passing Molly McEnery, who dished out 1,220 in 1996.
Nelson reaches the milestone in his 10th year of coaching at the Division I level and his second campaign on the Hilltop. After back-to-back wins against the Zags and Pilots, Nelson has 200 career coaching victories, 33 coming on the Hilltop. Last season, Nelson directed USF to a 23-8 season and propelled the Dons to the first NCAA Tournament berth and best record in program history in his first season with the Green and Gold. Nelson spent eight seasons at Texas Tech, guiding the Red Raiders to five NCAA Tournament berths and 20-plus win seasons. During his career, Nelson has averaged 21.0 wins per year and owns a .647 career winning percentage.
Junior outside hitter Sara Vercruyssen tallied a team-high 18 kills on .302 hitting and added 11 digs for Portland, while senior middle blocker Michelle Oakland added 14 kills on .393 hitting to go along with two blocks.
USF held a commanding .295-.162 advantage in attack percentage, a 60-49 edge in kills and an 18-10 block lead. The Dons hit .475 in game two with 20 kills and just one error in 40 attempts.
San Francisco returns to action when they travel to #21 San Diego Friday in continuing WCC play. First serve against the Toreros is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
NOTES: Senior outside hitter Stephanie Voelckers has totaled 1,975 career kills and has five matches remaining to reach 2,000 in her career... Voelckers needs 44 kills to become the eighth player to eclipse 400 kills in a season, currently standing at 366... freshman libero Brynn Maurer has tallied 329 digs in just 72 games this season and needs just six digs to enter the single-season top-10.
