Oct. 22, 2008

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF volleyball looks to extend an eight-match win streak this week as it returns to War Memorial Gym to host Loyola Marymount and No. 16 Pepperdine in West Coast Conference action. The Dons will open the weekend with the Lions Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Waves Saturday at 1 p.m.

LAST WEEK: Last week, USF continued its strong play, taking victories over Saint Mary's, 3-2, and Santa Clara, 3-1, on the road. The Gaels entered the week receiving votes in the national polls, while the Broncos were ranked No. 18. The win at Santa Clara marked the first time since 1989 that the Dons have defeated the Broncos at their home court.

DONS RECEIVE VOTES IN AVCA POLL: Off the heels of a road sweep of Saint Mary's and then-No. 18 Santa Clara, the USF volleyball team is receiving votes in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25 Poll that was released on Monday. The last time the Dons received votes in the national poll was on October 16, 2006. The Dons are one of four West Coast Conference programs to earn a top-25 rank or receive votes in the poll. Joining USF in the polls is Pepperdine ranked 15th, San Diego ranked 17th, and Santa Clara, which is listed at 23rd. The WCC is only one of four conferences to have four or more teams ranked or receiving votes in this week's poll. The other conferences are the Pacific-10 with eight, the Big Ten with six and the Big 12 with four.

BABIN, GOMBOS RANK NATIONALLY IN TOP-10 HITTING PERCENTAGE: Senior middle blockers Carly Babin and Alix Gombos both rank in the NCAA Division I top-20 in hitting percentage. Babin is listed at 10th with a .421 average, while Gombos checks in at 17th, with a .405 clip. USF is the one of two schools with two members of its roster listed in the top-20. Penn State's Christa Harmotto leads the nation with a .513 average.

DONS REMAIN PERFECT IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE PLAY: San Francisco's 5-0 conference start matches the school record for start to the league season. During the 1987 season, USF opened conference play with a 5-0 record before finishing the conference season with a program-best 9-5 mark.

USF CONTINUES TO ROLL AT HOME: With the upset over No. 15 San Diego on October 11, USF continued to be a threat when playing in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym. Through the opening eight weeks of the season, the Dons have amassed a school-best 10-1 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 37-16 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 continues to add to a stellar career resume and is looking 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/.421), blocks (second/77), kills (ninth/3.00) and points (eighth/270.5). After just recording 17 total blocks as a freshman, Babin enters the ninth week of 2008 with 359, good for sole possession of fourth place on the career charts and her 56 solo stuffs rate 10th. Babin moved past KeLicia Shorts (2002-05) and Laura Tinetti (1997-2000) with 10 total blocks this weekend. 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.

DONS GOING STREAKING: USF extended its winning streak to eight matches thanks to a 3-1 road victory over then-No. 20 Santa Clara Saturday at the Leavey Center. After dropping a 3-0 decision to nationally ranked California on September 20, the Dons have strung together victories over Central Connecticut State, Penn, Seattle, Portland, Gonzaga, San Diego, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. The longest win streak in San Francisco history was 15-0 stretch to open the 2003 season en route to qualifying for the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

USF PACES WCC IN BLOCKS: USF leads the West Coast Conference in blocks in both all games and league contests. Overall, the Dons average 2.37 blocks per game and 2.83 blocks per game against WCC foes. Individually, Alix Gombos, Carly Babin and Sarah Mandala each rank in the top-10 for blocks in overall matches. Babin is listed second with 1.08 blocks per game, Gombos, fifth with 1.04 and Mandala ninth with 0.79. In conference action, Gombos, Babin and Mandala are ranked first, fourth and sixth, respectively, while Addie Webster is ranked ninth.

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 is second the Dons with 72 blocks, 10 solo, averaging 1.04 a game, while hitting at a .405 clip with 161 kills (2.33), ranking her third in the West Coast Conference and 17th in NCAA Division I.

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 for Doron at Villanova.

Haley Carroll PACES WCC IN TWO CATEGORIES - 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 245 in 14 matches. Carroll enters the ninth week of the 2008 season ranked second on the USF career digs chart with 1,367 and earlier this season 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 35 service aces (0.48), Carroll also ranks second in digs with 333 (4.56).

Sarah Mandala GETS IT DONE: 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 3.44 kills (225) on .263 hitting. The native of San Dimas has also added 15 assists, 12 service aces, 89 digs and 57 blocks for USF this season. Against the Broncos on Sunday, Mandala paced USF with 16 kills on .542 hitting with three digs and one solo block.

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 eight of her final season on the Hilltop ranked sixth in career assists with 2,765. 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 8.33 assists per game while primarily running a 6-2 offense.

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 67 kills with 31 blocks, 20 digs and three service aces. Lowe is also making a statement with 12 assists, eight service aces and 91 digs. Keanini has earned 18 kills, 52 digs, six service aces and three blocks, while in one appearance, Kilroy recorded a dig.

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 ninth week of 2008, Webster averages 2.35 kills and 2.72 digs per game. This week, Webster led all Dons with 26 kills and 31 digs, including posting her team-leading fourth double-double of the season thanks to a 19 kill, 19 dig performance at Saint Mary's.

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, Pepperdine. Heading into week eight of the season, the Dons have posted a 4-2 record against 2007 Tournament participants. A year ago, USF posted a 3-8 overall record against NCAA postseason qualifiers.

BABIN NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: USF senior opposite middle blocker Carly Babin continues to post a stellar season and has earned one more accolade to add to her list of accomplishments, as she was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on October 14. The native of Las Vegas, Nev. earned the honor after leading the Dons past San Diego on October 12 with a .826 hitting percentage. Her average marked the third best in San Francisco single-match history, and the best average for a Don in four games.

TAKING THE FIFTH: USF is 3-1 in five-set matches this season, taking a 3-2 victory against Missouri State (8/29), falling to Miami (9/13), posting a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Penn and posted a come-from behind 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's last Thursday. The Dons have posted an impressive 19-11 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.