Oct. 21, 2009
Game Notes in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK: San Francisco will travel to Los Angeles this 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 at 7 p.m. before playing the Lions Saturday at 1 p.m.
LOOKING AHEAD: Next weekend USF will face long-time rival Santa Clara Friday evening at 5 p.m. Earlier this season, the Dons defeated the Broncos 3-0 in the league opener at War Memorial Gym.
LOOKING BACK: The Dons earned a two-match sweep over Gonzaga and Portland on the Hilltop. Thursday, USF fell behind early but rallied late to earn a five-set victory (14-25, 14-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-11) over the Zags. USF rebounded Saturday, taking a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 25-21) win over the Pilots.
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. Against Santa Clara, 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 the game at Saint Mary’s.
WALBRIDGE JOINS USF VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM: USF Volleyball head coach Gilad Doron has announced the hiring of Melissa Walbridge as an assistant coach. Walbridge joins the Dons’ program after a stand-out collegiate career at national powerhouse Penn State. Most recently, Walbridge had been associated with San Francisco as a volunteer assistant coach. Walbridge fills the void in the USF coaching staff that was left by Samantha Hartwell, who has moved into the Budget/Finance Manager position in the USF Athletic Department. Walbridge enjoyed a successful career at Penn State, earning varsity letters in volleyball from 2004-07. Under the guidance of head coach Russ Rose, the native of San Francisco led the Nittany Lions to a 126-11 overall mark, dropping just 54 sets throughout her career. In 2007, Walbridge served as co-captain for Penn State en route to a 34-2 record and the NCAA Division I National Championship. For her efforts, Walbridge was named an AVCA Second Team All-American in 2005.
MANDALA CONTINUES TO WORK HER WAY UP: Junior opposite Sarah Mandala continues to make waves in the USF record books. Thanks to 36 kills last weekend, the San Dimas native moved into possession of fifth place on the all-time career kills list. Previously, Mandala ranked eighth and moved pass Kathy Schindler (1982-85, 1,052) and Jeanette Sargenti (1994-97, 1,066) thanks to her performance last weekend. Mandala opened the season ranked 17th overall with 736. She currently leads USF with 312 kills this season. Mandala also ranks second all-time on the kills per set list, averaging 3.83 in 281 sets played. This season, she is far surpassing her career average, with 4.66 kills per set.
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 13 regular season matches remaining in her career in the Green and Gold, Carroll has accumulated 1,907 digs. When Carroll hits the 2,000 dig mark, she will be come the 45th player in Division I women’s volleyball history to do so. Carroll already sits atop the San Francisco all-time ranks for digs per set with 4.83 in 375 sets played. The senior also ranks in the all-time career aces category with 139, placing her second in program history.
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 1,075 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 HOME LEAGUE STREAK CONTINUES: Thanks to a 3-1 victory over Portland Saturday, the Dons extended their current home conference match win streak to 10 matches. The Dons have not dropped a WCC home contest at War Memorial Gym since November of 2007. The streak includes an undefeated 7-0 mark in conference play last season.
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 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 167 kills on a team-high .309 hitting with a team-high 67 blocks.
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.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: LMU opens the weekend in search of its first West Coast Conference victory of the season, and in hopes of snapping a seven-match losng streak. Last weekend, the Lions dropped a 3-0 decision at Pepperdine. LMU is led by Ariana Covington, who has recorded 169 kills on .200 hitting with 114 digs and 24 blocks. Steve Stratos is in his 20th season with the Lions, boasting a 372-195 career record.
LAST TIME VS. USF: Behind a career-high 20 kill effort by junior outside hitter Anna Berger, the No. 25 USF volleyball team wrapped up the conference season with a five-set 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11 victory over Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine enters the weekend with an 11-7 overall record, 4-1 in WCC play, and earning votes in the national polls. Last week, Pepperdine defeated LMU 3-0, rebounding from a 3-1 loss at UC Santa Barbara. The Waves are led by Rachel Grochmal, who boasts 188 kills on .210 hitting aith 163 digs and 22 blocks. Head coach Nina Matthies is in her 27th year in Malibu, earning a 292-294 overall record.
LAST TIME VS. USF: Despite a 14 kill performance by senior middle blocker Carly Babin, the No. 25 USF Volleyball team dropped a 25-19, 25-10, 25-17 decision to No. 24 Pepperdine Friday in Malibu. The loss secured USF no worse than a second place WCC finish.
