Nov. 18, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: San Francisco will close the 2009 campaign this weekend as it hosts Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine at War Memorial Gym. Thursday, the Dons will recognize the 2003 and 2008 NCAA Tournament teams with NCAA Recognition night. First serve is at 7 pm. Saturday USF will celebrate Senior Day – honoring Anna Berger, Haley Carroll and Lauren Quach prior to the 1 p.m. tilt with Pepperdine. The Waves are currently receiving votes in the national polls.

LOOKING BACK: USF went 1-1 last weekend, earning a come-from behind 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13) victory at Portland Thursday before dropping a five-set (25-27, 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 16-18)decision to Gonzaga in Spokane Saturday.

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY: Saturday, the Dons will participate in Senior Day, honoring Haley Carroll, Anna Berger and Lauren Quach. Carroll caps her career on the Hilltop as the Dons’ all time digs and digs per set leader. Earlier this season, Carroll became the 45th player in Division I and the first in West Coast Conference history to record 2,000-plus digs in her four-year career. Berger will cap her career in the Green and Gold as a fifth-year season with 636 kills, 424 digs and 120 blocks as well as two All-Tournament honors. Lauren Quach earned a spot on the Dons’ roster this season as a walk-on. Since joining San Francisco, Quach has appeared in 13 matches earning an assit and nine digs.

DORON GRABS RECORD BREAKING VICTORY: Last weekend, USF head coach Gilad Doron earned his 23rd West Coast Conference victory. The win propellws him into 1st place for most wins in league play by USF head coaches. The previous record of 22 was held by Laurie Corbelli (1986-89). Doron earned a tie in the ranks two weeks ago, while earning the 50th victory of Doron’s USF career, and the 96th overall.

CARROLL MAKES HISTORY, REACHES 2,000: Thanks to 16 digs against San Diego, senior libero Haley Carroll became the first player in West Coast Conference history and the 45th player in NCAA Division I Volleyball to record 2,000 career digs. With two matches remaining in her career in the Green and Gold, Carroll has accumulated 2,048 digs. Carroll already stood as the all-time USF digs leader after blowing by previous record holder Brynn Maurer (2004-07) earlier this season. She also sits atop the San Francisco all-time ranks for digs per set with 4.82 in 425 sets played. The senior also ranks in the all-time career aces category with 144, placing her second in program history.

DONS MAKE IT THREE STRAIGHT: The 3-0 sweep of then-No. 22 San Diego November 7, marked the third straight season the Dons have defeated the Toreros at War Memorial Gym. All three victories have come when USD was ranked in the top-25. In 2006, the Dons up-ended the then-No. 12 Toreros 3-0, before defeating No. 15 San Diego 3-1 last season on the Hilltop.

DONS GAIN PROGRAM FIRST: October 22, at Pepperdine, USF’s 3-2 victory marked a program first. The victory marked the first time that the Dons have earned a victory over the Waves on the road and just the third victory over Pepperdine in program history, including the second win in the past two seasons.

MANDALA CONTINUES TO WORK HER WAY UP: Junior opposite Sarah Mandala continues to make waves in the USF record books. Thanks to 54 kills last weekend, the San Dimas native is ranked in sixth place on the all-time career kills list with 1,226 career kills. Previously, Mandala ranked eighth and moved pass Kathy Schindler (1982-85, 1,052) and Jeanette Sargenti (1994-97, 1,066) thanks to her performance against Gonzaga and Portland a few weeks ago. Mandala opened the season ranked 17th overall with 736. She currently leads USF with 463 kills this season. Mandala also ranks tied for first all-time on the kills per set list, averaging 3.94 in 311 sets played. This season, she is far surpassing her career average, with 4.77 kills per set.

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 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 1,172 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.  

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.

FRESHMAN SIMMONS PROVES TO BE BLOCKING BEAST: Freshman Hadley Simmons has surely earned her starting spot with the Dons this season, leading USF with 13 solo blocks. The Santa Barbara native, overall has recorded 80 blocks - 13 solo, 67 assists - while also recording 102 kills. At Pepperdine, Simmons recorded 10 blocks, marking a season-high for San Francisco. Against the Waves, the middle blocker recorded nine block assists, one solo and eight kills on .300 hitting.

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 51-33 (.607) overall record, including 23 WCC victories.

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: The Lions enter the weekend with a 12-14 overall, 3-9 WCC record. The lions are led by Alaina Bergsma with 416 kills on .217 hitting with 208 digs and 51 blocks. Loyola Marymount is coached by Steve Stratos, who boasts a 372-195 record in 19 seasons in Los Angeles.

LAST TIME VS. USF: Sarah Mandala recorded 21 kills as the USF volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23) decision to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Mandala’s efforts marked the seventh time this season the junior has posted 20 or more kills.

SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine enters the weekend looking to secure an NCAA Tournament bid with a 15-10 overall record, 8-4 in league play. The Waves are currently receiving votes in the national polls. Pepperdine boasts three players - Rachel Grochmal, Kim Hill and Lilla Frederick - with 200-plus kills. The Waves are coached by Nina Matthies, who in 26 years maintains a 494-294 mark.

LAST TIME VS. USF: Behind double-double efforts from Sarah Mandala, Alycia Cox, and Leanna Ludes, the USF volleyball team defeated Pepperdine 3-2 (20-25, 28-26, 24-26, 15-12) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Thursday evening. The victory marked the first time that the Dons have earned a victory over the Waves on the road and just the third victory over Pepperdine in program history, including the second win in the past two seasons.