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USF Volleyball Sweeps Houston in Opening Round of Banker's Classic
Nov. 24, 2006
(Stockton, CA) - USF volleyball pulled off a convincing sweep 30-18, 30-25, 30-23 of Houston to open the 2006 Banker's Classic Friday night at the Spanos Center. The Dons (23-9) equal the program's all-time wins record, established in 2003 - the year San Francisco reached its inaugural NCAA appearance - and took a major step in qualifying for their second postseason berth with a dominating win against the Cougars (19-16).
Junior outside hitter Kristin Hasselberg recorded a match-high 17 kills on .353 hitting to pace USF, while sophomore middle blocker Alix Gombos continued her strong play with 10 kills on .412 attacking with three blocks (one solo). The Dons hit .368 as a team and five players it .325 or better. Sophomore middle blocker Carly Babin hit an impressive .562 with nine kills and no errors on 16 swings, while junior outside hitter Brynn Maurer tallied eight kills on .412 hitting with a match-high 13 digs.
Junior opposite hitter Linzy Kearney also enjoyed a solid night with six kills on .333 hitting and shared the team lead with three blocks. Senior setter Jamie Kartchner dished out a team-high 23 assists and was one dig shy of recording a double-double, while sophomore setter Darcy Carroll added 15 assitsts. Freshman libero Haley Carroll recorded nine digs on the night and with her third of the night became only the second player in program history to surpass 500 digs in a season, finishing with 507.
"The whole group had a solid match," said Dons' head coach Jeff Nelson. "We followed the game plan right from the onset. The offense was very good and both of our middles played extremely well. Brynn played good defense and Linzy hit well, also."
San Francisco held a 56-36 kills advantage and limited the Cougars to a .159 hitting percentage, including a dismal .050 rate in game one.
With the victory, the Dons advance to the title match of the Banker's Classic for the second time in their last two appearances. In 2004, the Dons fell 3-1 to the host Tigers in the championship. San Francisco will square off against Portland State (20-7), who dispatched Pacific 3-1 in the second match Friday. First serve against the Vikings is set for 7:00 PM at the Spanos Center and will feature live audio on USFDons.com courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast. Matt Martinez (play-by-play) and Marshall Pagaling (color) will bring all the exciting action.
