SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The San Francisco women's volleyball team is set to host Portland at War Memorial Gym on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Dons will take a trip across the Bay Bridge to take on No. 25 St. Mary's in Moraga at 1pm.
After a two game winning streak to start the month, the Dons (12-9, 3-5 WCC) are coming off a three-game slide and look to get back in the win column against the Pilots (6-17, 0-9 WCC). USF is 4-2 when they play at home. After that, it's off to Moraga for a Saturday afternoon contest at No. 25 St. Mary's (11-9, 6-3 WCC). The Gaels are 5-2 at home and are coming off a big win against USD, handing the Toreros their first WCC loss of the season.
Coach
Gilad Doron says the conference is very deep this year. “We need to take care of business at home first and then take that momentum on the road. We need to find a way to put two games together.”
For the Portland game on Thursday night, there will be a costume contest. Any fan who wears a costume to the match at War Memorial Gym is eligible to enter, and the winner will take home a USF Prize Pack!
USF - BY THE NUMBERS:
- A tandem of Dons are in the top four in the WCC for kills, with freshman
Ester de Vries accounting for 3.58 kills per set and senior
Jocelyn Levig recording 3.45 kills per set.
- Levig's average of 0.49 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 4.57 balls per set, good for second in the WCC. She has more than 800 digs in her young career, with 361 thus far in the season.
- Senior
Leanna Ludes has 759 total set assists on the season for an average of 10.12 assists per set to lead the way for the Dons (No. 5 in the WCC).
- The Dons have faced fierce competition against five previously ranked teams this season (No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 BYU, No. 13 USD, No. 25 Cal and No. 23 Pepperdine) and with Saturday's contest against St. Mary's, the 2012 total will sit at seven. 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: Doron is in his sixth season at the helm of the Dons, where he has compiled a 85-79 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.
QUOTABLE: "They have some good offensive players and can be a dangerous team." –
Doron on the Portland Pilots
"They are hot right now and are coming off a big win against USD. Now you can see why they were the preseason pick to win the conference." –
on the Saint Mary's Gaels
LAST TIME OUT: The Dons beat the Pilots 3-0 on Oct. 6 in Portland. USF has not faced St. Mary's so far this season.
Portland - BY THE NUMBERS:
- Junior setter Monica Jordan has 471 assists on the season, averaging 5.48 per set, good enough for eighth place in the WCC.
- The tandem of senior Ariel Usher and junior Autumn Wedan leads the way on the attack with 250 and 239 kills, respectively.
- Freshman setter Lexi Dempsey is also a potent force on offense, notching up 19 service aces for the Pilots this season.
- On defense, look to sophomore Jacky Rodriguez to come up with digs. She leads the team with 260 this year, a 3.10 per set average.
St. Mary's – BY THE NUMBERS:
- As a team, the Gaels are a strong force in the West Coast Conference. They rank second in service aces with 1.51 per set. They are third in assists, kills and blocks, with 13.52, 14.27 and 2.27 per set, respectively. In hitting percentage and digs, the Gaels are ranked fourth in the conference with a percentage of .242 and 14.83 digs per set.
- Senior middle blocker Gabby Jolly leads the team in hitting percentage at .344 (seventh in the WCC) and is sixth in the conference with 69 blocks (1.05 per set).
- The tandem of junior outside hitter Kristina Graven and Jolly lead the team in kills with 237 and 210 respectively, good enough for eighth and 10th in the WCC.
- Redshirt freshman setter Dalas Dodd and junior outside hitter Jordan Shaw come in strong with service aces for the Gaels, .38 and .29 per set, ranking fifth and 10th in the WCC.
- On defense, it's the duo of junior outside hitter Sarah Reams and Shaw getting the digs, with totals of 220 and 203, good enough for eighth and 10th in the conference.
