Oct. 8, 2008

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(San Francisco) - UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF volleyball continues West Coast Conference play this week as it hosts nationally ranked San Diego at War Memorial Gym. The match with the No. 16 Toreros is scheduled for Saturday, October 11 at 1 p.m. The Dons enter the match looking to extend a five-match win streak, which includes victories last week over Portland and Gonzaga to open WCC play.

LAST WEEK: The Dons opened West Coast Conference play last weekend in winning fashion, earning victories over Portland and Gonzaga. In the WCC opener, Darcy Carroll posted a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs as USF swept the Pilots 25-21, 25-21, 25-22. San Francisco earned its fourth straight victory Saturday to remain perfect in league play as the Dons defeated the Bulldogs 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 27-25. For the match, USF hit a .283 clip, including hitting .319 in the decisive four set of the match. USF also hit over .300 in set one, when it hit .312 while holding Gonzaga to a .121 clip.

USF CONTINUES TO ROLL AT HOME: With a sweep over Portland and Gonzaga last weekend, USF continues to be a threat when playing in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym. Through the opening six weeks of the season, the Dons have amassed a school-best 9-1 record on the Hillltop. The lone loss at home this season was a 3-2 battle to Miami on Saturday, Sept. 13 as part of the 2008 Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational. In the past four years, San Francisco has posted a 36-16 record when playing at home, including going 7-3 during the 2006 campaign.

Carly Babin CONTINUES TO ADD TO STELLAR CAREER: Senior middle blocker Carly Babin looks for a strong finish in her final season in the Green and Gold. Babin is currently ranked among West Coast Conference leaders in attack percentage (first/.412), kills per game (10th/2.98), blocks (sixth/1.02) and points (ninth/3.75). 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 seventh week of 2008 with 342, good for sole possession of sixth place on the career charts and her 52 solo stuffs rate 10th. Babin moved past Sharon Mellen (1985-88) who recorded 319, with 15 blocks earlier this season. 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 PACES WCC, SECOND IN USF CAREER DIGS: 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 is on track to do so once again with 275 in 16 matches. Carroll enters the seventh week of the 2008 season ranked second on the USF career digs chart with 1,319 and three weeks ago passed Dons Hall-of-Famer and Legend of the Hilltop Melanie Kaiser (1988-91), who tallied 1,236. In addition to leading the WCC with 275 digs (4.58), Carroll also ranks second in the conference with 30 service aces (0.50).

Alix Gombos ATTACKS WITH AUTHORITY: After an impressive junior season in which she was awarded All-WCC Honorable Mention accolades, senior middle blocker Alix Gombos continues to shine in her final season on the Hilltop. The Oregonian currently leads the Dons with 62 blocks, six solo, averaging 1.11 a game, while hitting at a .426 clip with 130 kills (2.32), ranking her second in the West Coast Conference. Gombos led USF to a 2-0 record during the opening weekend of league play, recording 22 kills (3.14) for a .583 percentage, with a team high 12 blocks (1.71) against Portland and Gonzaga. Gombos entered her final collegiate campaign as the top attacker in program history (.328).

USF AGAINST 2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS: This season, USF will play against seven teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Included in the seven opponents is this week's foe, San Diego. Heading into week seven of the season, the Dons have posted a 2-2 record against 2007 Tournament participants. San Francisco opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Long Beach State before rebounding with a 3-2 victory over Missouri State. On September 12, the Dons handed Sacramento State a 3-0 sweep, before dropping a 3-0 decision to then-No. 9 California on September 20. A year ago, USF posted a 3-8 overall record against NCAA postseason qualifiers, including a 3-0 victory over then-No. 12 San Diego. 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.

Sarah Mandala GETS IT DONE: Last season, sophomore opposite hitter Sarah Mandala turned in the most prolific offensive season by a freshman in school history, ranking second in kills (3.40) and capturing West Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection after averaging a team-high 3.53 kills on .267 hitting during league matches. Mandala currently leads the Dons offensively, averaging 3.58 kills (215) on .260 hitting. The native of San Dimas has also added 12 assists, 12 service aces, 83 digs and 50 blocks for USF this season.

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 seven of her final season on the Hilltop ranked sixth in career assists with 2,731. 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). So far this season, Carroll averages 8.46 assists per game while primarily running a 6-2 offense.

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). With her ninth kill against Cal State Fullerton (9/19) Webster reached 1,000 career kills. Webster notched 669 kills with the Eagles. Entering the seventh week of 2008, Webster averages 2.28 kills and 2.59 digs per game.

FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: San Francisco's roster this year features four freshmen Erin Bragg (redshirt), Chelsey Lowe, Leinani Keanini, and Erin Kilroy. Bragg leads the pack of newcomers, boasting 59 kills and a .213 hitting percentage with 26 blocks. Lowe is also making a statement with 12 assists, seven service aces and 89 digs. Keanini has earned 17 kills, 49 digs and three blocks, while in one appearance, Kilroy recorded a dig.

TAKING THE FIFTH: USF is 2-1 in five-set matches this season, taking a 3-2 victory against Missouri State (8/29), falling to Miami (9/13) and posting a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Penn last week. The Dons have posted an impressive 18-11 record 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.

TOURNAMENTS IN REVIEW: This season, the Dons competed in four tournaments - the Long Beach Tournament, 2008 Asics/Powerade Challenge, the 2008 Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational, and the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. San Fransico earned the title of the Asics/Powerade Challenge, after posting victories over UC Santa Barbara (3-1), Texas-Arlington (3-0) and Utah State (3-0). During the event, Carly Babin was named the MVP, while Alix Gombos and Sarah Mandala earned all-tournament honors. USF finished as runner-up in the other three tournaments, including going 2-1 at the Asics/Coca-Cola Inivitational and the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. Mandala earned all-tournament honors during all three runner-up finishes, while Haley Carroll was also recognized at the Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational and Darcy Carroll earned accolades at the Cal State Fullerton tournament.