SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The San Francisco women's volleyball team is set to host No. 13 San Diego on Thursday Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at War Memorial Gym. The match is a West Coast Conference-sponsored DIG PINK event.
Throughout the entire month of October, “Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” all nine West Coast Conference institutions will be hosting PINK matches in the sports of women's volleyball, women's soccer and men's soccer to help increase cancer awareness and give students and fans the opportunity to become more involved in the fight against the disease.
Each school will host unique events and activities on campus to give back to the cause. In support of their efforts, the Conference has provided co-branded PINK giveaways, such as backpacks, headbands, and foam fingers, to be distributed to attendees of PINK games this October.
In addition, West Coast Conference women's volleyball teams will utilize their PINK games to benefit the Side-Out Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches around the common goal of promoting breast cancer awareness and finding a cure, and other local breast cancer research organizations in their communities.
To donate to the cause, visit; https://www.side-out.org/cb/ous/fundraising_page/2586
USF (12-8, 3-4 WCC) is coming off of two road losses to BYU and Pepperdine and is looking to get back on track on their home court. The Dons sport an impressive 4-1 record at War Memorial Gym this season. Coming in at No. 13, the USD Toreros sport a 16-2 overall record (8-0 WCC) and lead the conference.
USF - BY THE NUMBERS:
- A tandem of Dons are in the top four in the WCC for kills, with senior
Jocelyn Levig recording 3.63 kills per set and freshman
Ester de Vries accounting for 3.62 kills per set.
- Levig's average of 0.48 service aces per set ranks second in the conference standings.
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Rebecca Kopilovitch, a sophomore libero from Israel, digs an average of 4.62 balls per set, good for second in the WCC. She has more than 792 digs in her young career, with 342 thus far in the season.
- Senior
Leanna Ludes has 714 total set assists on the season for an average of 10.2 assists per set to lead the way for the Dons.
- The Dons have faced fierce competition against four previously ranked teams this season (No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 BYU, No. 25 Cal and No. 23 Pepperdine) and with Thursday night's contest, the 2012 total will sit at six. USF hasn't played more than five ranked opponents in a season since 2004 when the Dons matched up with eight teams in the rankings.
FEARLESS LEADER: Gilad Doron is in his sixth season at the helm of the Dons, where he has compiled a 85-78 overall record. Doron's 38 WCC victories rank as the highest total in program history. He became the all-time USF wins leader earlier this season as the Dons knocked off then-No. 25 California on Sept. 1.
LAST TIME OUT: The Dons fell to the Toreros 1-3 in San Diego on September 20. Three San Francisco Dons posted double-digit kill totals and
Leanna Ludes registered her fourth double-double, but USF came up short, losing 1-3 to then No. 18 University of San Diego. The Dons won the first set 35-33 in dramatic fashion, but the Toreros took control after that, winning 21-25, 20-25, 22-25.
Freshman Ester De Vries put the finishing touch on the extended first set to give the Dons a 1-0 lead. De Vries finished one dig shy of a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs on the night.
Malina Terrell and
Jocelyn Levig added 15 and 14 kills, respectively, to go along with Ludes' 42-assist, 15-dig double-double.
Rebecca Kopilovitch recorded her sixth consecutive match with at least 13 digs, posting 19 in the contest.
Four Toreros tallied double-digit kill totals, led by Katie Hoekman and Carrie Baird's 14 kills.
SAN DIEGO - BY THE NUMBERS:
- USD boasts a hitting percentage of .247, good enough for third in the WCC. The Toreros lead the conference in assists per set (13.98), kills per set (14.82) and digs per set (15.88). They are second in WCC play in blocks per set (2.40).
- Middle hitter Katie Hoekman has a .381 hitting percentage (4th in the WCC), and averages 1.14 blocks per set (tied for 3rd in the WCC).
- Hoekman leads the Toreros with 2.80 kills per set and fellow junior Chloe Ferrari is right behind her at 2.77 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .367 (6th in the WCC).
- Senior libero Kandiss Anderson leads the team with 4.23 digs per set (3rd in the WCC).
- The Toreros own a 13-match winning streak, including a perfect 8-0 in WCC play.
For tickets to Thursday's match,
click here.
