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Dons Take WCC Opener From Broncos 3-0
Oct. 2, 2009
(San Francisco) - Sarah Mandala exploded for 15 kills on .444 hitting as the USF women's volleyball team posted a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) victory over visiting Santa Clara in the 2009 West Coast Conference opener at War Memorial Gym. The match marked the Dons' 2009 DiG PiNK night, collectively raising over $2,100 dollars towards the fight against breast cancer.
The San Francisco (7-7, 1-0 WCC) victory marked the third straight time the Dons dispatched the Broncos (10-6, 0-1 WCC). Since Santa Clara went 34-0 against USF between 1990 and 2006, the Dons have won four the past five meetings.
Mandala continued her stellar junior campaign for USF during the contest, posting a match-high 15 kills, with just three errors, to hit at a .444 average. The native of San Dimas also added an assist, a service ace, four digs and a pair of blocks to provide the Dons with 17 points. Heading into the weekend, Mandala ranked second in NCAA Division I in kills per set, and fifth in the nation in points.
Sophomore Erin Bragg added seven kills for the Dons on .455 hitting, while Alaina Sully and Leanna Ludes took turns running the USF offense. Sully finished the evening with 18 assists, while Ludes dished out 16.
Senior libero Haley Carroll continued her drive towards 2,000 career digs with 16. The USF all-time digs leader is now 180 digs away from the milestone. USF combined for 17 blocks on the evening, including five from Bragg.
The opening set was a battle for each team, with the teams trading the lead eight times and knotting the score on 11 occasions. The two teams played tough during the set, with each team not earning more than a three point lead on the other.
San Francisco came out strong in the second set, jumping out early to a 9-2 advantage. The Dons continued to play hard throughout the set, hitting at a .542 clip. USF went up by eight points over SCU multiple times during the set before finally putting the Broncos away 25-15.
The Dons controlled the third set from the get-go, only allowing the Broncos to tie or take the lead twice, all in the early part of the match. San Franciso held Santa Clara to a .029 hitting percentage in the decisive set, while the Dons hit at a .211 rate.
The Broncos were paced by Dana Knudsen with a team-high 9 kills on .412 hitting with four blocks.
Friday marked the annual DiG PiNK Breast Cancer Awareness night for the Dons. USF and Santa Clara both sported pink warm-ups prior to the match, while USF wore pink socks during the match. At last count, USF had raised $2,115 towards breast cancer research, with money still need to be counted.
The Dons will return to action next Thursday as they travel to San Diego to face the nationally-ranked Toreros. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
