Sept. 5, 2008
(San Francisco) - USF opened play in the 2008 Asics/Powerade Challenge, posting a 3-1 victory against UC Santa Barbara Friday night at War Memorial Gym in its home opener. The Dons (2-2) hit .246 for the match and held the Gauchos to .176 hitting in the decisive fourth game. San Francisco also stalled UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory's quest for career-win No. 800. The Volleyball Hall-of-Famer looks to become just the sixth head coach to reach the milestone. Gregory and the Gauchos take on Utah State and UT Arlington in tournament action on Saturday. USF got monster performances from its middle blockers. Senior middle blocker Alix Gombos recorded 15 kills on .609 hitting to go along with six blocks. The Oregonian made just one attack error in 29 swings. Senior middle Carly Babin added 15 on .345 hitting with seven blocks (two solo). "I think overall our effort tonight was the best of this season from top to bottom," USF head coach Gilad Doron said. "We played with great energy. Our middles and right side players made big plays for us throughout the match. To have the students cheering for us gave us a huge lift. This was a good match to for us to build on for the rest of the season." Sophomore opposite hitter Sarah Mandala also chipped in 15 kills. Senior outside hitter Addie Webster tallied eight kills and 12 digs, while freshman middle blocker Erin Bragg added seven kills with three blocks. Junior libero Haley Carroll recorded a team-high 18 digs for the Dons, who improved to 2-0 in the all-time series against the Gauchos.
USF's setting tandem also enjoyed a solid match. Senior Darcy Carroll a team-high 33 with eight digs, while sophomore Alaina Sully added 20 for the Dons. Rebecca Saraceno led four UCSB players in double-digit kills with 15, while Charlene DeHoog added 14. Leigh Stephenson tallied a match-high 19 digs for UCSB. USF returns to action when it takes on UT Arlington (3-2) at 11:00 AM and then concludes tournament play against Utah State (0-5) at 7:00 PM. All matches played at War Memorial Gym. ASICS/POWERADE CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE UT Arlington 3, Utah State 1: UT Arlington got a match-high 15 kills from Tara Fratz, who hit .357 and Amanda Aguilera added 12 kills and eight digs to take a 15-25, 25-21, 25-14, 28-26 decision against Utah State in the tournament opener for both teams. The Mavericks (3-2) hit .248 and shook off a slow start against the Aggies (0-5) to poke above .500 for the season. Melissa Osterich recorded 14 kills and 10 digs, Rebecca Anderson added 11 kills on a remarkable .786 attacking for USU. Kris Hymas had 10 kills for the Aggies who hit .208 for the contest. |
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