Gilad Doron, the winningest coach in program history, recently completed his ninth season as USF’s head women’s volleyball coach, and he embarks on the fourth beach season in school history after beginning the program alongside co-head beach volleyball coach Eyal Zimet.
At the conclusion of the 2015 season, the Dons have compiled a 131-130 overall indoor record in nine seasons under Doron’s leadership, including a program-best 60 victories against West Coast Conference foes. Doron guided USF to its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and a national ranking in 2008. Since taking over the program for the 2007 season, 27 Dons have earned All-WCC honors, including 10 first team selections, two Defensive Player of the Year honorees, 10 honorable mention selections and 10 All-WCC Freshmen Team members.
In 2014, senior middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik became the first three-time first team all-conference selection in school history. Rebecca Kopilovitch was named the WCC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, becoming the second player under Doron to earn the award, following Haley Carroll’s selection in 2007. Last February, Carroll became the fifth volleyball player to be inducted into USF’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Zaloznik along with Malina Terrell ’14 have continued their careers in the professional ranks. Zaloznik will begin her first season as a pro with Pays d'Aix Venelles in France after leaving USF as one of the most decorated women to play for the Dons. In her second year abroad, Terrell finds a new home with NawaRo Straubing in the German Bundesliga, after an MVP season with Fortuna Odense in her first post-collegiate season.
The Dons have also excelled in the classroom during Doron’s tenure. USF has been honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association of America (AVCA) for academic excellence each of the last four seasons as one of 146 NCAA Division I teams to maintain at least a 3.3 team grade point average during the academic year. A total of 12 players were selected to the 2015 WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll last year. Beginning with the 2007 season, 12 USF players have earned WCC All-Academic honors, which includes an all-time high four selections in 2014.
USF’s volleyball players have also been active participants in the department’s community relations initiatives, including San Francisco RBI, Harper for Kids and St. Vincent de Paul Society, to name a few. In the spring of 2015, Doron was inducted into the San Francisco RBI Hall of Fame for his on-going advocacy of the literacy program.
The Dons have compiled four winning seasons in eight years under Doron, including a 22-win campaign in 2008, which resulted in the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. USF has also knocked off seven top-25 teams during Doron’s tenure, with three of those victories coming in the 2008 season.
Doron’s first team posted a 17-13 overall record and a 6-8 conference mark in 2007. The victories included victories over defending WCC champion San Diego and Santa Clara, the Dons first win over the Broncos since the 1989 season.
The 2008 season was one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history. After posting a 10-4 non-conference record, USF won its first seven WCC matched and climbed into the national rankings for four weeks, peaking at an all-time high of No. 22. USF ultimately finished 11-3 in conference play, good for second place, setting a school-record for conference victories. Along the way, USF knocked off three conference rivals which were ranked in the top-25 at the time of the match, including San Diego and Pepperdine, which were ranked 15th nationally. The Dons made their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where they fell to ACC powerhouse Duke in five-games at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. USF finished the season with a 22-8 overall record and five Dons earned All-WCC honors.
In 2012, USF finished 16-13 overall and posted the program’s first-ever victories over long-time powers Pacific and California, a team the Dons defeated twice during the season. In 2013, USF registered its first-ever season sweep of traditional WCC power Pepperdine and took eighth-ranked San Diego to five games before falling.
Prior to his appointment at USF on March 14, 2007, Doron served as the head coach at Villanova for three seasons (2004-06) and as an assistant coach at Temple from 1996-99. He also founded the Philadelphia Volleyball Academy and enjoyed a distinguished playing career with the Israeli National Team and Mate Asher club team.
In three seasons as the head coach at Villanova, Doron guided the Wildcats to a 46-44 overall record and the program’s first 20-win season since 1997, when the Wildcats finished 21-11 overall in 2005. The Wildcats showed a 12-game improvement from 2004-05, which was the second-best turnaround in BIG EAST history. In 2005, the ‘Cats shot out of the gates with a 10-0 record, which included the program’s first win over Pitt since 1998. Two players – Kacy Sellers (2005) and Adrian Semrau – earned All-BIG EAST honors during his tenure, while six players earned conference player of the week accolades. Semrau also earned ESPN/CoSIDA District II academic team honors while Villanova earned to AVCA Academic Team Awards during Doron’s three-year stay.
From 1996-99, Doron served as an assistant coach at Temple under Bob Bertucci, where helped the Owls to a 101-28 (.783) record and a 70-11 (.864) record in Atlantic-10 Conference action. In four seasons, Temple averaged 25.3 wins a season, including 17.5 conference victories. The Owls won three consecutive A-10 titles which led to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Doron worked closely with two-time ASICS All-America honorable mention selection Alma Kovacci, along with six AVCA All-District and six A-10 Conference first team picks.
Prior to his appointment at Villanova, Doron founded the Philadelphia Volleyball Academy, a nationally-ranked club comprised of five teams and players between the ages of 14-18. He also spent three years as the head goals volleyball coach at Synergy Volleyball club in Philadelphia, where he worked with U-8 players on a nationally-ranked club squad that qualified for national championships in 2001 and ’02. His 2002 team climbed as high as No. 12 in the national polls and compiled an overall record of 100-27.
Doron began his coaching career in his native Israel as the head men’s volleyball coach for the Mate Asher Professional Club, where he mentored national team players from Israel, the Czech Republic, Romania and Croatia. Doron led his teams to the 1994 Israeli Championship and the finals of the 1995 Israel Cup. Mate Asher as also a qualifier in the European League in 1996.
An accomplished player, Doron competed for the Israeli national team for 10 years and was part of the squad that placed fourth in the World University Games in Japan in 1995. He played 12 seasons with Mate Asher, helping lead the club to four Israeli League titles and a pair of Israeli Cup championships.
A 2000 graduate of Temple University with a degree in business administration, Gilad and his wife Jennifer reside in San Francisco with their son, Kai Jonathan.
