Dec. 3, 2008

Complete Postseason Guide and Game Notes in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: USF will face Duke Friday at 5:30 in the program's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Dons and Blue Devils will face off in the first round at Pauley Pavilion. The winner of the match will advance to the second round where they will play the winner of a first round contest between UCLA and LSU.

USF GRABS FIRST NCAA BID SINCE 2003: USF Volleyball team is making its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2003. During the 2003 season, the Dons posted a program-best 23-8 record to earn an at-large bid. San Francisco opened post-season play against Pacific, falling 3-0.

FIVE DONS GARNER ALL-WCC ACCOLADES: Senior middle blockers Carly Babin and Alix Gombos, as well as sophomore opposite Sarah Mandala have been named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team, as announced by the league office. In addition senior setter Darcy Carroll and junior libero Haley Carroll were awarded All-WCC honorable mention accolades. The three first-team selections marks the most first team honors in program history, as well as the fourth time in school history the Dons have had more than one named to the first or second team.

SAN FRANCISCO VS. 2008 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD: This season the Dons have posted a 7-5 record against teams that are participating in the NCAA field of 64. The Dons opened the season dropping a 3-1 decision to then-No. 24 Long Beach State, before rebounding with a five-set victory over Missouri State. USF faced then-No. 9 California on Sept. 20, falling 3-0 to the Bears. Miami handed the Dons their lone home loss of the season on Sept. 13, as USF fell in five sets. San Francisco faced San Diego twice in West Coast Conference play, winning the first contest 3-1 (Oct. 11) before falling 3-0 in San Diego on Nov. 8. On Oct. 16 and 18, the Dons earned victories over Saint Mary's (3-2) and Santa Clara (3-1) on the road, before defeating both ths Gales (3-1, Nov. 15) and Broncos (3-0, Nov. 23) again later in the season at home. Against Pepperdine, San Francisco spilt the series with a 3-1 victory on the Hilltop (10/15) and a 3-0 loss in Malibu (11/20).

DONS SET PROGRAM WCC WIN RECORD: Thanks to a victory over Loyola Marymount on Nov. 22, USF improved on a program-record for conference victories. Against Santa Clara on Nov. 13, the Dons broke the previous record of nine league wins. San Francisco finished 2008 WCC play with an 11-3 record in league play, with a program-best second place finished. The school record for WCC victories was nine, set in 1987 when USF fished with a 9-5 WCC mark and tied for a previous program-high third in the conference.

DONS REMAIN RANKED IN TOP-25: USF Volleyball remains ranked in this week's national Bison/AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25 poll that was released Monday. The Dons currently check in at 25th. This week marks the fourth week that San Francisco has been ranked in the top-25, marking a program first.

SAN FRANCISCO HOLDS FOES TO ALL-TIME LOWS: This season, the Dons have held opponents to all-time lows in kill average (9.77), dig average (10.46), service ace average (0.86) and block average (1.67). The Dons broke previous kill (10.7) and dig (13.2) lows that were set over 20 years ago in 1987, while the previous block low (1.80) was set in 1999. The former service ace low or 0.91 was recorded during the 2003 campaign.

USF CONTINUES TO ROLL AT HOME: With a victory over San Jose Stae to close out the regular season, USF continued to be a threat when playing in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym. This season the Dons have amassed a school-best 15-1 record on the Hilltop. 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 42-16 record when playing at home, including going 7-3 during the 2006 campaign.

DONS SET TO SHATTER PROGRAM RECORDS: Heading into the final week of the season, the Dons are on pace to shatter some program-best marks. Currently, as team, San Francisco is hitting at a .265 clip, over 25 points higher than USF's current season record of .240 set in 2003. Individually, senior middle blocker Alix Gombos is on pace to smash the single-season hitting percentage mark. KeLicia Shorts set the current record of .357 during the 2005 season, while Gombos is currently hitting .419.

FANS TURN OUT IN LARGE NUMBERS: November 13, 1,010 fans came to War Memorial Gym, marking the highest turnout at a home match for the Dons since 2005. On November 12, 2005, 1,355 USF fans saw the Dons defeat Gonzaga 3-1 on the Hilltop. So far this season, San Francisco home matches have drawn a total of 5,774 fans to 15 home matches.

BABIN, GOMBOS RANK NATIONALLY IN TOP-20 HITTING PERCENTAGE: Senior middle blockers Carly Babin and Alix Gombos both rank in the NCAA Division I top-20 in hitting percentage. This week, Gombos was ranks fifth with a .426 average, while Babin checks in at 20th with a .388 clip. This week marks the eighth straight week that the pair of Dons has been ranked in the top-10 or -20. USF is one of two schools to have two members of its roster listed in the top-20; the other is top-ranked Penn State. Penn State's Christa Harmotto leads the nation with a .515 average.

SAN FRANCISCO RECORDS THIRD BEST WIN TOTAL IN SCHOOL HISTORY: Thanks to the victory over Portland on Nov. 1, USF surpassed its win total from a year ago. The Dons currently stand at 22-7 overall while a year ago they finished with a 17-13 overall, 6-8 WCC mark. The 22 victories mark the third best in school history, while the school record is 23 wins. USF won 18 matches in the 2005 campaign and 23 in the 2006 and 2003 seasons. The 2003 campaign marked the first and last time, in San Francisco history that the Dons were selected to partake in the NCAA Tournament.

DONS CONTINUE TO PLAY WELL AGAINST RANKED FOES: This season, the Dons have matched-up against ranked foes, or those receiving votes in the national polls, during eight contests, boasting a 6-4 record. The six victories shatters a program record, as prior to this season San Francisco had never defeated more than two ranked teams in a single campaign. Earlier this season, USF knocked off three ranked teams in as many weeks thanks to victories over San Diego, Pepperdine and Santa Clara.

DONS' STREAK SNAPPED: USF saw a 10-match win streak snapped on Oct. 30 at Gonzaga. After dropping a 3-0 decision to nationally ranked California on September 20, the Dons strung together victories over Central Connecticut State, Penn, Seattle, Portland, Gonzaga, San Diego, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. Of the 10 victories, three came against nationally ranked foes and one against a team that was receiving votes in the national polls. 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.

DONS KNOCK OFF THREE RANKED TEAM IN AS MANY WEEKS: The victory over No. 15 Pepperdine marked on October 23 marked the third time in as many weeks that USF defeated a ranked opponent. The three wins over ranked foes marks a program first, as prior to this season USF had never defeated more than two ranked teams in a single campaign.

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.

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 (second/.388), blocks (fourth/1.07) and points (10th/3.71). After just recording 17 total blocks as a freshman, Babin enters the postseason with 396, good for sole possession of fourth place on the career charts and her 61 solo stuffs rate eighth. 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.

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 103 blocks, 17 solo, averaging 0.98 a game, while hitting at a league-leading .426 clip with 253 kills (2.41), ranking her fifth in NCAA Division I.

Haley Carroll PACES WCC IN ACES - 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 497 in 27 matches. Carroll enters the postseason ranked second on the USF career digs chart with 1,541 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 ranking second in the WCC with 38 service aces (0.35), Carroll also ranks second in the WCC in digs with 497 (4.55).

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 3.61 kills (393) on .297 hitting. The native of San Dimas has also added 26 assists, 16 service aces, 124 digs and 84 blocks for USF this season.

Anna Berger MAKES IMPACT: Redshirt junior Anna Berger has only played in 58 sets this year, but continues to be a force for the Dons. Berger has appeared in every match since her season debut on Sept. 27th against Seattle University. The outside hitter has recorded 121 kills (2.09) with nine assists, 13 service aces, 98 digs and 26 blocks - four solo, for 149.0 points. Berger exploded on Oct. 16 at Saint Mary's with a career-high 18 kills, 10 digs and two blocks for her lone double-double of the 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 the post season ranked fourth in career assists with 3,165. So far this season, Carroll averages 8.56 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 postseason, Webster averages 2.29 kills and 2.75 digs per game.

USF AGAINST 2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS: This season, USF played against seven teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Heading into the final week of the season, the Dons have posted a 8-5 record against 2007 Tournament participants. A year ago, USF posted a 3-8 overall record against NCAA postseason qualifiers.

TAKING THE FIFTH: USF is 4-2 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, posting a come-from behind 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's, seeing a comeback fall short, 3-2 at Gonzaga and closing the WCC season with a 3-2 victory at LMU. The Dons have posted an impressive 20-12 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 14-8 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 Invitational and the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. Mandala earned all-tournament honors during all three runner-up finishes, while Haley Carroll was also honored at the Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational and Darcy Carroll earned accolades at the Cal State Fullerton tournament.