Sept. 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF hosts Miami, Sacramento State and Villanova in the 2008 USF Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational beginning Friday, September 12 at War Memorial Gym. The Dons take on the Hornets, the 2007 champions, at 7:00 PM, preceded by the Wildcats and the Hurricanes at 4:30 PM. San Francisco is fresh off winning its fourth consecutive Asics/Powerade Challenge. The Dons beat UC Santa Barbara 3-1 in the opener and swept UT Arlington and Utah State Saturday. San Francisco hit .315 for the tournament and limited opponents to a .193 attack percentage. It is the 13th tournament title for the Dons since the start of the 2003 season. Complete 2008 USF Asics/COCA-COLA INVITATIONAL Schedule Carly Babin ASICS/POWERADE MVP... AGAIN: 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 the third week of 2008 with 303, good for eighth on the career charts and her 46 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. 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 the third week of the 2008 season ranked fourth on the USF career digs chart with 1,140. 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 Oregonian 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. Mandala led the way for the Dons at the Asics/Powerade Challenge, averaging a team-high 3.64 kills and 1.55 digs per game en route to all-tournament team selection. USF AGAINST ASICS/COCA-COLA FIELD: San Francisco does not have a great deal of history against two of its opponents in the Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational field. USF trails the all-time series against Sacramento State 21-5, but have won two of the last five meetings. The Dons suffered a sweep against the Hornets in the title game of last year's event. USF owns a 2-0 record against Villanova with the last a 3-1 victory in San Francisco September 18, 1994. The Dons also took down the `Cats on the Main Line in a 3-1 triumph September 12, 1992. This is the first meeting between USF and Miami. USF DONS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT NOTES DONS HOST PAIR OF 2008 TOURNAMENTS: USF hosts two tournaments for the second straight season, this year on back-to-back weekends. The Dons won their first event when they took a 3-1 win against perennial NCAA power UC Santa Barbara, followed by sweeps of Texas-Arlington and Utah State in the USF Asics/PowerAde Challenge. The Dons won the event for the fourth straight season and have taken the hardware five times since the tournament debut in 2003. 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. 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. 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 week three of her final season on the Hilltop ranked sixth in career assists with 2,398. 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). 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 the third week of the 2008 season, Webster needs 32 kills to reach 1,000 in her career. Webster recorded 669 kills with the Eagles. TAKING THE FIFTH: USF posted a five-game victory against Missouri State in the 2008 Long Beach State Invitational, improving to an impressive 17-10 in matches going the distance since the start of the 2003 season. The Dons posted a 2-3 record in five sets in 2007. San Francisco's streak of nine consecutive five-game match wins came to an end in the 2006 regular season finale against Portland State in the Banker's Classic. The Dons posted its ninth straight five set decision with a thriller at Long Island (9/22) at the 2006 LIU Blackbird Invitational. The Dons turned in an impressive 6-0 record in five-game matches in 2005 after going 0-4 during the 2004 campaign. Since 2003, the Dons are 14-7 in matches going the distance. USF was 5-2 in five sets during its "Season of Firsts", with its only two setbacks coming against No. 13 Loyola Marymount and No. 5 Pepperdine. ASICS/POWERADE CHALLENGE RECAP: USF volleyball swept Utah State 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 in the finale of the 2008 Asics/Powerade Challenge Saturday night at War Memorial Gym. It marks the fourth straight year the Dons (4-2) have taken the tournament hardware. San Francisco continued its hot hitting registering .361 against Utah State in the finale and finished the weekend with .315 attacking over the three matches. The Dons limited tournament opponents to a .193 clip and held a 29.0 - 22.0 blocking advantage. Senior middle blocker Carly Babin earned tournament MVP honors, averaging 3.30 kills on an impressive .519 hitting and 1.30 blocks per game. It is the second straight time Babin has taken MVP honors at the Asics Powerade Challenge and the first repeat winner in the tournament's five-year history. Senior middle blocker Alix Gombos also was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 3.00 kills on remarkable .481 hitting with a team-high 1.40 blocks. Sophomore opposite hitter also took tournament hardware, averaging a team-high 3.90 kills on .354 attacking with 0.70 blocks per game. Mandala also earned Asics/Powerade Challenge honors last season. 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.
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