THIS WEEK: USF will return to the Hilltop this weekend as it hosts Gonzaga and Portland at War Memorial Gym. The Dons will host the Zags Thursday at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Pilots Saturday at 1 p.m.
LOOKING AHEAD: San Francisco will travel to Los Angeles next weekend to face Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount as the Dons close out the first half of West Coast Conference play. USF will play the Waves Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. before playing the Lions Saturday, Oct, 24 at 1 p.m.
LOOKING BACK: The Dons faced a tough weekend in the second week of WCC playing, dropping decisions to No. 24 San Diego and Saint Mary's. Thursday against the Toreros, USF fell 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21) as Sarah Mandala, Erin Bragg and Anna Berger each posted double-digit kills. Against the Gaels on Saturday, San Francisco struggled, falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-21). MANDALA NAMED WCC CO-PLAYER OF THE MONTH:Sarah Mandala of the University of San Francisco volleyball team has been named the West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Month for September. The junior shares the monthly honor with San Diego's Ali Troost. Mandala posted an outstanding September, hitting double figure kills in all 10 of the Dons' matches, including four matches with 20-plus kills. The native of San Dimas recorded 26 kills twice - against San Diego State and then-No. 13 Stanford. In addition, she added 25 against Alabama and 24 against Cal State Bakersfield. All of the games, Mandala was playing as an outside hitter, a new position for her. For the first two years of her career, Mandala served as an opposite for the Dons. During the month, Mandala posted three double-doubles and fell just a dig short of the feat on two occasions.
SCOUTING THE ZAGS: Gonzaga travels to Bay Area with a 6-10 overall record, including 1-3 when playing on the road and 2-1 against WCC foes. The Zags are paced by Layne Brosky, who boasts 178 kills on .299 hitting. Caitlin Cozad helps to anchor GU's defense with 77 blocks, including 12 solo. The Bulldogs are coached by Dan Gantt, who is in first year at the helm of the team. For his career, he boasts a 216-160 overall record in 14 years.
LAST TIME VS. USF: After dropping the opening two sets, the No. 22 USF Volleyball team battled to force a set five before eventually falling 3-2 to Gonzaga Thursday evening at the Martin Centre in Spokane. The loss to the Bulldogs snaps a 10-match win streak for the Dons and marks the first loss in conference play this season for San Francisco.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS: Portland enters the weekend with a 5-13 overall record, including 1-2 against WCC foes and an 0-5 mark when playing on the road. Three Pilots have recorded over 100 kills - Jessica Clemens (189). Maria Clemens (151) and Marissa Plummer (107). Joe Houck, who boasts a 139-100 career record, is in his second year at Portland. In his first year, the Pilots went 8-24. LAST TIME VS. USF: USF Volleyball rebounded from a tough loss on Friday to sweep Portland 25-21, 25-16, 25-19 Saturday at the Chiles Center in Portland, Ore. The win marks the No. 22 Dons' second victory this season and the 13th straight win over the Pilots. The last time San Francisco dropped a decision to Portland was in 2002.
DONS BEGIN TO REWRITE HISTORY OVER BRONCOS: Two weeks ago, USF posted a dominating 3-0 victory over visiting Santa Clara to open WCC play. The Dons' victory marked the third straight time USF has dispatched Santa Clara. Since the Broncos went 34-0 between 1990 and 2006, the Dons have won four of the past five meetings, including the last three straight.
MANDALA HITS ILLUTRIOUS MARK: Junior Sarah Mandala continues to make strides in her career and recently reached a major benchmark - 1,000 kills. Currently, Mandala has amassed 1,039 career kills. The San Dimas native recorded the milestone 1,000th kill in the final point against Cal State Bakersfield. She is now just the ninth player in USF history to accomplish the feat, reaching the mark quicker than the other eight, and became just the third Don to achieve the milestone as a junior.
DONS TO FIGHT BREAST CANCER, HOST DIG PINK: The Dons will participate this year in the annual Dig Pink brigade, to help bring awareness to and fight breast cancer. USF will host Dig Pink night on four different occasions. Friday night against the Broncos, USF raised over $2,150 towards the international fight. USF is also helping to raise money towards breast cancer awareness; those who wish to donate can visit the link on the volleyball home page at www.USFDons.com. San Francisco will also compete in the DiG PiNK events at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine on October 24 and 25, respectively, as well as last Saturday's game at Saint Mary's.
MANDALA RANKS FOURTH NATIONALLY: Junior Sarah Mandala currently ranks fouth nationally in kills per set, averaging 4.76. Division I is currently paced by Yun Yi Zhang from Temple, who averages 5.64 kills per set. Mandala also ranks in the top-10 in points per set (5.29). Senior libero Haley Carroll is the lone other Don ranking in the top-100 nationally, thanks to 5.1 digs per set to place Carroll 23rd.
CARROLL MAKES HISTORY, INCHES CLOSER TO 2,000: Thanks to 24 digs against Sacramento State, senior libero Haley Carroll became USF all-time digs leader. With her 15th dig of the match, Carroll blew past previous record holder Brynn Maurer (2004-07) with 24 digs against Sacramento State. With 15 regular season matches remaining in her career in the Green and Gold, Carroll has accumulated 1,860 digs. Carroll already sits atop the San Francisco all-time ranks for digs per set with 4.82 in 386 sets played. The senior also ranks in the all-time career aces category with 137, placing her second in program history.
CARROLL, MANDALA NAMED TO WATCH LIST: Senior libero Haley Carroll and junior opposite Sarah Mandala have been named to the AVCA Division I Preseason Watch List, as announced by the AVCA. Last season Carroll earned All-West Coast Conference honorable mention accolades while Mandala was named to the All-WCC First Team.
BRAGG POSTS STRONG SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN: Middle blocker Erin Bragg has seen a strong start to her sophomore campaign, including an impressive outing during the 2009 Asics Challenge. Bragg saw time as a reserve last year as a freshman, and has transitioned into a starting role this season. In the Dons four matches of the Asics Challenge, Bragg recorded 48 kills on team-high 354 hitting. The native of Clovis also added 12 blocks, two aces and six digs. For her efforts, Bragg earned All-Tournament honors for the first time in her career. For the season, she boasts 145 kills on .318 hitting with a team-high 60 blocks.
MANDALA CONTINUES TO WORK HER WAY UP: Junior opposite Sarah Mandala continues to make waves in the USF record books. Thanks to 15 kills against Santa Clara, the San Dimas native moved into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time career kills list. Previously, ranked ninth and just passed Chiara Lawerence (1993-96), who had 1,011 career kills. Mandala opened the season ranked 17th overall with 736. She currently leads USF with 276 kills this season. Mandala also ranks fourth all-time on the kills per set list, averaging 3.82 in 272 sets played. This season, she is far surpassing her career average, with 4.6 kills per set.
WAR MEMORIAL GYM RENOVATIONS: Home matches this fall will be the first competition held in War Memorial Gym since renovations were completed this summer. The home of the Dons' men's and women's basketball and volleyball program celebrated its 50th anniversary during last season. The floor replacement this summer was the first floor replacement done since the arena opened in 1958-59. In addition to the new floor and design, new NCAA and conference championship banners were hung to celebrate the legacy and tradition of USF.
DORON RETURNS TO THE HILLTOP FOR HIS THIRD SEASON:Gilad Doron enters his third season at the University of San Francisco looking to build on a solid debut in 2007 and continue the success of a record breaking 2008 season. Doron was introduced as the ninth head coach in program history on March 14, 2007. It is the second Division I head coaching assignment for Doron who spent three years (2004-06) as the head coach at Villanova, guiding the Wildcats to back-to-back winning seasons in the Big East. During his tenure on the Hilltop, Doron has posted a 46-28 (.622) overall record, including 18 WCC victories. His league win mark is the third highest total in the USF coaching ranks, just four wins shy of the record of 22 held by Laurie Corbelli (1986-89).
DONS FACE TOUGH SLATE IN 2009: USF will face a challenging schedule in 2009, playing nine teams in 13 matches that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Included in the nine teams is a match against National Champion runner-up and Bay Area foe, Stanford. The WCC slate also poses to be a challenge for the Dons, as last season the league advanced five teams to the NCAA Tournament. Over the past six seasons, the league has emerged as one of the premier volleyball conferences in the country. In the past five seasons, the WCC has owned a national top-five ranking in the RPI on three occasions. Last season, the WCC had five schools with RPI's under 50, trailing only the Pac-10 (7) and the Big Ten (7).
2008 REVIEW: The Dons open 2009 off the heels of a record breaking 2008 season, which included advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. USF also posted a record-setting 11-3 finish in the West Coast Conference, earning it a program-high second place conference finish. For their accomplishments, five Dons - Carly Babin, Alix Gombos, Sarah Mandala, Haley Carroll and Darcy Carroll - earned All-West Coast Conference accolades.
WONG JOINS USF COACHING STAFF:Scott Wong joins the USF volleyball coaching staff as the associate head coach this season. A current USA men's volleyball assistant coach and former National Team member, Wong has spent the past two seasons with the third-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team as an assistant coach. Wong joins the Dons as a replacement for former associate head coach Dan Fisher, who has left the Hilltop for the associate head coach position with the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball program.
