SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco women's volleyball team wraps up its regular season with two home games this week. On Thursday, USF plays host to Saint Mary's at 6:30 p.m., and then on Saturday welcomes Loyola Marymount to War Memorial Gym for a 1p.m. contest.
Coming off a big 3-1 match win against West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine on Nov. 10, the Green and Gold look to keep their momentum going. The Waves were ranked No. 24 going into the matchup before the Dons nabbed the upset last Saturday. USF was led by
Valentina Zaloznik's .457 hitting percentage and a double-double of 18 kills and 11 digs.
The Dons (15-12, 6-8 WCC) are 2-3 in their last five matches and sit in seventh place in the conference standings. The home court advantage has been in full effect this season as USF sports a 7-3 record at the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym. The Gaels (15-10, 10-4 WCC) sit in third place in the conference standings and are riding a two-match winning streak. Saint Mary's enters with a 4-1 record in its last five matches. The last time these two squads met, then-No. 25 Saint Mary's came up with the 3-0 victory in Moraga on Oct. 27.
Thursday night's match marks Jewish Heritage Appreciation Night. There will be a special appearance from The Rally Rabbi - you may recognize him from the recent San Francisco Giants World Series run. Also, enjoy the culinary specialties of the Old World Food Truck, which will be present before the match. The USF squad is marking Jewish Heritage Appreciation Night for the first time in program history. Two Dons players,
Rebecca Kopilovitch and
Inbar Vinarsky, hail from Israel, as well as coaches
Gilad Doron and
Eyal Zimet.
On Saturday, USF will host Loyola Marymount for an afternoon contest at 1p.m. The Lions (17-11, 7-7 WCC) are in sixth place in the conference. They are 4-1 in their last five matches, winning the last two in a row. The Dons have the season advantage over Loyola Marymount after posting a 3-2 road win on Sept. 22, in Los Angeles. Senior setter
Leanna Ludes had 50 assists in the winning effort for the Green and Gold. Please join us in honoring USF's five seniors on the team,
Alycia Cox,
Hadley Simmons, Ludes,
Jocelyn Levig and student manager Steven Yang, as we celebrate Senior Day.
Both matches are “Youth Free” Days, granting free admission for children 12 and under.
USF - BY THE NUMBERS:
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As a team, the Dons rank second in the WCC in digs with 1,591 on the season, a 15.60 per set average. Kopilovitch, a redshirt sophomore libero from Israel, leads the team in this category. She digs an average of 4.60 balls per set, good enough for second place in the individual WCC standings. She needs seven digs to reach the 900 mark for her young career at USF.
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The tandem of senior Jocelyn Levig and freshman Ester de Vries leads the team in kills with 341 and 332 kills, respectively. They average 3.38 and 3.53 kills per set, good enough for both to be ranked in the top eight in the conference.
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Levig also leads the team in service aces with 45, an average of .45 per set. This ranks her second in the conference.
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Zaloznik, a sophomore from Ljubno ob Savinji, Slovenia, leads the team in hitting percentage at .325, placing her 10th in the conference.
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Senior Leanna Ludes has 973 total assists on the season for an average of 10.14 assists per set to lead the way for the Dons. This ranks her fourth in the WCC.
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The Dons have faced fierce competition against seven previously ranked teams this season (No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 BYU, No. 13 USD, No. 25 Cal, Pepperdine twice (ranked Nos. 23 and 24) and No. 25 St. Mary's). USF has not 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 88-82 overall record. His 41 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.
Saint Mary's - BY THE NUMBERS:
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As a team, the Gaels lead the WCC in assists (1,210 total, 13.91 per set), kills (1,273 total, 14.63 per set) and service aces (136 total, 1.56 per set). They rank second in the conference in hitting percentage at .256.
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Senior Gabby Jolly is in the conference top 10 in multiple categories. She ranks fourth in blocks with 96 on the year, 1.17 per set. Her hitting percentage of .364 is seventh in the WCC and her 261 kills (3.18 per set) put her in ninth place in the conference.
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Junior Kristina Graven is seventh in the conference in kills with 294 this season, 3.42 per set.
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Redshirt freshman Dalas Dodd is third in the WCC in service aces with 31 this season, .36 per set..
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The trio of Graven, junior Sarah Reams and junior Jordan Shaw have combined for 832 digs on the year, ranking all of them in the top 10 in the conference.
Loyola Marymount – BY THE NUMBERS:
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As a team, the Lions rank third and fourth, respectively, in the WCC in service aces (145, 1.41 per set) and assists (1342, 13.03 per set).
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Redshirt junior Kathleen Luft leads the conference in kills with 418 on the season, 4.06 per set. Sophomore Litara Keil is 10th in the conference in kills with 326 this season, 3.17 per set.
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Freshman Hannah Tedrow is sixth in the WCC in assists with 944 this season, 9.17 per set.
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The tandem of junior Betsi Metter and Keil has combined for 66 service aces on the season, ranking them both in the top 10 in the conference.
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Meter also leads the WCC in digs with 478 this year, 4.64 per set. Keil also ranks sixth in the WCC in blocks with 108 on the season, 1.05 per set.
