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Mandala Hits Milestone as Dons Win 350th Match In Program History
Sept. 26, 2009
(San Francisco) - Junior Sarah Mandala recorded her 1000th career kill Saturday as the University of San Francisco posted a 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-14) victory over visiting Cal State Bakersfield at War Memorial Gym. In what turned out to be an afternoon of milestones, Mandala earned career kill No. 1000 in her final attempt, giving the Dons' the program's 350th all-time victory.
With the victory, San Francisco finishes the non-conference season with a 6-7 record while Bakersfield falls to 7-10. For the program's history, the Dons' all-time record improves to 350-573 in the program's 31st season.
Mandala earned her milestone kill in her final attempt of the afternoon, earning the final point to lift the Dons over the Roadrunners. Mandala's milestone elevates her to the ninth Don in program history to record 1000-plus career kills. In addition, the San Dimas native reaches the mark quicker than another player in USF history and becomes just the third to achieve 1000 career kills as a junior. For the afternoon, the opposite led the Dons with her third double-double of the season thanks to 24 kills and 15 digs, while also adding three assists, a service ace and six blocks - three solo - for a total of 29.5 points.
San Francisco struggled in the opening set as Bakersfield offense hit at a .364 clip. The Roadrunners grabbed the lead from the get-go and led the remainder of the set, but the Dons would knot the score on six occasions.
USF finally gained its first lead of the afternoon, taking a 2-1 lead in the second set. The score would switch sides five times before USF went on a 9-0 run behind the serving efforts of Leanna Ludes.
From that point on, the Dons controlled the match, minus a tightly played third set.
Sophomore Erin Bragg joined Mandala with double-kill efforts thanks to 12 kills on .417 hitting. Bragg also added four digs and six blocks. Senior Anna Berger fell just short of double-digit kills, finishing with nine on .471 hitting.
Junior Alaina Sully ran the offense for a majority of the afternoon, dishing out 32 assists, while freshman Ludes added 18. Ludes captured her first career double-double, also posting 10 digs.
Junior Haley Carroll paced the defense with 20 digs.
The Dons will return to action Friday, October 2, opening West Coast Conference action against rival Santa Clara. The match will mark the Dons' DiG PiNK game, as USF works to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. San Francisco encourages its fans to join the cause and help USF raise money for Breast Cancer research. Donations can be found through the link found on www.usfdons.com
