Aug. 28, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF opens the 2008 season at the Long Beach State Invitational. The Dons open tournament play Friday, August 29 against the host 49ers, currently ranked No. 24 in the AVCA Preseason poll. San Francisco then faces perennial NCAA Tournament participant Missouri State in Friday's afternoon match and closes out the weekend with a 5:00 match against Indiana on Saturday. The Dons have never played the Bears or the Hoosiers and square off against The Beach for the first time since suffering a sweep in 1994. Long Beach State owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series.

Haley Carroll - WCC DEFENDER OF THE YEAR: Junior libero Haley Carroll followed up an outstanding freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign and captured 2007 West Coast Conference Defender of the Year honors. It was the first major individual conference award ever presented to a Don. Carroll led the league in digs (4.97) and was even better in WCC contests (5.64). The Gilroy, CA native is the first player in program history to twice surpass 500 digs in a single season and defied staggering odds to record 522 in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Carroll enters 2008 ranked sixth on the USF career digs chart with 1,044.

Alix Gombos ATTACKS WITH AUTHORITY: Senior middle blocker Alix Gombos turned in a strong junior season, capped by her second straight All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection. Gombos ranked fourth among league leaders in blocks (fourth/1.22) and attack percentage (seventh/.309). Gombos elevated her game during WCC play, 2.20 kills on .320 hitting with 1.30 blocks per game. The West Linn, OR native turned in one of the finest offensive seasons by a middle as a sophomore, ranking second among league leaders in attack percentage (.345) and seventh among league block leaders (1.14). Gombos enters her final collegiate campaign as the top attacker in program history (.326).

Sarah Mandala GETS IT DONE: Sophomore opposite hitter Sarah Mandala turned in the most prolific offensive season by a freshman in school history and ranked second in kills (3.40) and captured West Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection after averaging a team-high 3.53 kills on .267 hitting during league matches. A two-time WCC Player of the Week selection, Mandala shattered the freshman kills record with 350 in her inaugural season, easily surpassing Theresa Hart (2003-05), who tallied 277 in 2003.

Carly Babin CLIMBS CAREER BLOCKS LIST: Senior middle blocker Carly Babin looks for a strong finish in her final season in the Green and Gold. Babin ranked among West Coast Conference leaders in attack percentage (fourth/.355) and blocks (fifth/1.18). Last season, Babin ranked third on the team in kills, averaging 2.82 per game. After just recording 17 total blocks as a freshman, Babin enters 2008 with 282, good for ninth on the career charts and her 43 solo stuffs rate 10th. The Las Vegas native enjoyed one of the most prolific blocking seasons in USF history as a sophomore in 2006, ranking second in single-season stuffs with 160.

Darcy Carroll MOVING ON UP CAREER ASSISTS CHART: Senior setter Darcy Carroll enjoyed the finest season of her career last season, ranking fifth among West Coast Conference leaders in assists (11.01), the sixth-best single season tally in program history. Last year the Dons offense hit at a .228 rate, the third best mark in program history, with Carroll doing the lion's share of setting. Carroll enters her final season on the Hilltop ranked sixth in career assists with 2,249. Molly McEnery (1994-96) currently sits in the fifth spot with 2,928. A 2005 West Coast Conference Freshman Team selection, Carroll dished out a career-high 71 assists against No. 14 Cal Poly (9/14/07).

2008 USF VOLLEYBALL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
DONS GOING STREAKING: USF extended its program record with its third straight winning season. It was the third winning season in four years for the Dons and just the fifth overall in 31 seasons of volleyball on the Hilltop.
USF SWEEPS NO. 12 SAN DIEGO: San Francisco swept defending West Coast Conference Champion No. 12 San Diego (10/27). The victory is the highest ranked opponent for USF in program history and is the team's first ranked win since 2003 - also against the Toreros.
RARE BAY AREA WCC SWEEP: San Francisco posted back-to-back home sweeps of ancient Bay Area and WCC rivals Saint Mary's (10/4) and Santa Clara (10/6). It marks the first time in program history the Dons have posted consecutive sweeps against the Gaels and Broncos.
AT LAST... USF's 3-0 victory against Santa Clara was the first for the Dons since 1989 and snapped a 34-match losing streak to the Broncos.
DONS HOST THE HARDWARE: USF won the 2007 Asics/Powerade Challenge for the third straight year, sweeping Oral Roberts, Colgate and Eastern Washington.
DOMINATING THE RIGHT COAST: With sweeps against Colgate (9/1) and Cornell (9/22), the Dons improved to a remarkable 29-3 against East Coast schools since 2000 with 17 straight wins.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS: San Francisco recorded a 12-4 record in three-game matches.
HASSELBERG SETS KILLS MARK: Senior outside hitter Kristin Hasselberg completed her standout career as USF's career kills (1,530) and kills per game (3.94) leader.
MAURER SEVENTH IN WCC DIGS: Senior outside hitter/libero Brynn Maurer wrapped up her four-year career with a school record 1,703 digs (4.09 dpg), good for third place on the career West Coast Conference career digs chart.
CARROLL WCC'S TOP DEFENDER: Sophomore libero Haley Carroll was named 2007 West Coast Conference Defender of the Year, becoming the first Don to earn a major league individual award. Carroll averaged 4.97 digs per game, 5.64 in WCC matches.
MANDALA SHATTERS KILLS MARK: Freshman opposite hitter Sarah Mandala captured All-WCC Honorable Mention selection, averaging a team-high 3.53 kills with 0.87 blocks per game. Mandala tallied 350 kills on the season, beating the previous freshman kills record by 77.
GOMBOS NAMED ALL-WCC AGAIN: Junior middle blocker Alix Gombos earned WCC Honorable Mention selection for the second straight season, averaging 2.20 kills on .320 hitting with 1.30 blocks per game in league play.

USF DONS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Since 2003, USF has competed in 22 tournaments and has captured 12 championships with five runner-up showings.
- The Dons established a program record by winning four tournament titles in 2003 later matched by the 2006 squad.
- Since 2003, 13 Dons have captured tournament MVP honors and 54 have earned all-tournament selections.
- San Francisco owns a 16-1 record in its Asics/PowerAde Challenge with four tournament titles (2003, 2005-07) and one runner-up showing.
- USF posted tournament victories against eight eventual league champions in the past three seasons, four in true road matches.

DONS HOST PAIR OF 2008 TOURNAMENTS: USF hosts two tournaments for the second straight season, this year on back-to-back weekends. The Dons host their first event when they welcome perennial NCAA power UC Santa Barbara, Texas-Arlington and Utah State for the USF Asics/PowerAde Challenge. The event, now in its sixth year, kicks off Friday September 5 when USF plays its home opener against the Gauchos at 7:00 PM in War Memorial Gym. USF hosts its second tournament of the year September 12-13 with the second annual Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational. Rising Big East power Miami, 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Sacramento State and Villanova comprise the tournament field. The Dons open tournament play when they tackle the defending Big Sky champion Hornets Friday in a 7:00 PM match.

USF AGAINST 2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS: Last season, USF played no fewer than 11 matches against teams advancing to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Dons posted a 3-8 overall record against NCAA postseason qualifiers. San Francisco dispatched Xavier (3-0), Santa Clara (3-0) and No. 12 San Diego (3-0). In addition, USF went 1-3 against top-25 opponents last season. The win against the Toreros was the first ranked victory for the Dons since taking down USD in 2003.

Gilad Doron ENTERS SECOND SEASON IN THE GREEN AND GOLD: After guiding USF to its program record third straight winning season, Gilad Doron enters his second season on the Hilltop. Doron was named as head coach March 14, 2007. Before arriving on the Hilltop, Doron spent three years as the head coach at Villanova (2004-06), guiding the Wildcats to back-to-back winning seasons in the Big East. Doron is assisted on the bench by former US National Team setter Dan Fisher, who enters his second season on the Hilltop and his first as the associate head coach and Sam Hastings, who also enters her second year at USF after playing Doron at Villanova.

Addie Webster VERSATILE FOR USF: Senior outside hitter Addie Webster made solid contributions for the Dons in her first season on the Hilltop, ranking fourth on the team in kills (2.58) and was third in digs (2.59). A transfer from Eastern Washington, Webster captured Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors in 2005 and turned in a team-high seven double-double matches for the Dons. Webster recorded 13 kills on .306 hitting to go along with 16 digs against Fresno State (8/25) and turned in 12 kills and 17 digs against Cal State Northridge (8/25). Webster tallied nine kills and nine digs against Oregon (9/4) and turned in her third double-double of the year with 11 kills and 11 digs against No. 14 Cal Poly (9/15). Entering her final collegiate season, Webster needs 86 kills to reach 1,000 in her career. Webster recorded 669 kills with the Eagles.

NEWCOMERS READY FOR GREEN AND GOLD DEBUTS: USF welcomes a skilled group of five newcomers to the Hilltop in the first complete recruiting class for head coach Gilad Doron and his coaching staff. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Erin Bragg (Clovis, CA) was a heavily recruited player out of Buchanan High School in the Central Valley. After sitting out last season, Three true freshman also bring plenty of excitement to the table, headlined by opposite hitter Erin Kilroy (Portland, OR), the 2007 Oregon 6A State Player of the Year. A two-time all-state performer, Kilroy lifted Jesuit High School to the 2005 6A State Championship. Outside hitter Chelsey Lowe (Yorba Linda, CA) turned in a strong prep career at Esperanza High School, helping the Lady Aztecs to the 2005 CIF Division I title. A four-time all-league choice, Lowe helped Esperanza to two Sunset League championships. Leinani Keanini (Kailua, HI) is a libero/outside hitter who should see time primarily in the back row. An honorable mention All-State selection, Keanini captured first team All-ILH honors as a senior at Iolani High School.

DONS VOLLEYBALL SENIORS READY: San Francisco returns five starters and more than 71 percent of the kills from the Dons offense, which averaged nearly 16 kills per game on .228 hitting in 2007. Five seniors look to cap their careers with an NCAA Tournament appearance. A three-year starter, Darcy Carroll enjoyed the best season of her career in 2007 and helped the Dons post the third best attack percentage in program history as a junior. A two-time All-WCC Honorable Mention selection, middle blocker Alix Gombos enjoyed another strong season for the Dons and ranked in the top-10 among WCC blocking and attack percentage leaders. Carly Babin, who enters her final season ranked ninth in career blocks, also ranked in the top-10 among WCC blocking and attack percentage leaders. Outside hitter Addie Webster made big contributions in her first campaign on the Hilltop and turned in a team-best seven double-doubles on the season. Zuzana Bednarova, who will see time at outside hitter and middle blocker this season, looks to finish her career in the Green and Gold with a flourish.