SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco women's volleyball team continues West Coast Conference play this week traveling to Santa Clara on Thursday and then returning home to host No. 24 Pepperdine on Saturday. Starting with the Pepperdine match, the Dons have three straight at home to close out the 2012 regular season.
After a five-set loss to Santa Clara at home on Nov. 1, the Green and Gold will be looking for revenge Thursday night at 6 p.m., on the Broncos' home court. The Dons (14-11, 5-7 WCC) are coming off a sweep, their eighth of the season, after taking down Gonzaga 3-0 on Nov. 3. They are 2-3 in their last five matches and sit in seventh place in the conference standings. The Broncos (19-8, 8-4 WCC) sit in third place in the conference standings and are riding a three-match winning streak. They are 4-1 in their last five matches.
"Last time, we did not play as well as we can,” USF coach
Gilad Doron said about Santa Clara. “We played hard, but we need to put a run together for an entire match - start to finish."
On Saturday, the Dons return to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym, where they sport a 6-3 record. The Green and Gold host No. 24 Pepperdine for a 1 p.m. match. The Waves (18-8, 7-5 WCC) are in fifth place in the conference and have a 4-1 record in their last five matches. Last time out, Pepperdine fell at No. 18 San Diego, 3-2, on Nov. 3. The last time the Dons and the Waves met, at Pepperdine in mid-October, USF fell 3-1. Senior
Leanna Ludes had 44 assists in the losing effort.
Saturday's match is an Alumni Afternoon and Youth Free Saturday, so USF Alumni and children 12 and under can get into the match for free. For those not in attendance, the event will be live streamed on usfdons.com.
USF - BY THE NUMBERS:
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The tandem of senior Jocelyn Levig and freshman Ester de Vries lead the team with 314 kills and 305 kills, respectively. They average 3.41 and 3.59 kills per set, good enough for both to be ranked in the top seven in the WCC.
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Levig also leads the team in service aces with 45, an average of .49 per set. This ranks her second in the conference.
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Sophomore Valentina Zaloznik and junior Malina Terrell lead the team in hitting percentage, at 326 and .316, respectively.
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Rebecca Kopilovitch, a sophomore libero from Israel, digs an average of 4.66 balls per set, good enough for second place in the WCC. She has more than 800 digs in her young career, with 433 thus far in the season.
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Senior Leanna Ludes has 889 total assists on the season for an average of 10.22 assists per set to lead the way for the Dons. This ranks her fourth in the conference.
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The Dons have faced fierce competition against six previously ranked teams this season (No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 and No. 16 BYU, No. 13 USD, No. 25 Cal, No. 23 Pepperdine and No. 25 St. Mary's). Saturday's match against No. 24 Pepperdine will be the eighth match against opponents in the Top 25 rankings. USF hasn't played more than five ranked opponents in a season since 2004 when the Dons faced off 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 87-81 overall record. Doron's 40 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.
Santa Clara - BY THE NUMBERS:
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As a team, the Broncos rank second in the conference in service aces, averaging 1.53 per set.
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Junior Megan Anders leads the team with 342 kills, an average of 3.11 kills per set. She also leads the team in hitting percentage, .377 (third in the WCC). Sophomore Taylor Milton is second on the team in kills with 324 and averaging 2.95 per set.
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Junior Alyssa Anderson and sophomore Chelsea Heier are one and two in assists with 714 (6.49 per set, seventh in the WCC) and 517 (4.83 per set).
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Junior Katherine Douglas and sophomore Katy Schatzman lead the team in digs with 284 and 271, respectively.
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Junior Haley Cameron (ninth in conference) and Anders are Nos. 1 and 2 in blocks for the Broncos with 98 and 92 this season.
Pepperdine – BY THE NUMBERS:
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As a team, the Waves rank second in the conference in kills, averaging 14.50 per set and third in the conference in assists with 13.56 per set.
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Junior Jazmine Orozco leads the team with 357 kills, an average of 3.80 kills per set, good enough for third in the WCC.
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Junior Kellie Woolever is number one on the team in assists, with 1,079 on the season, an average of 11.24 per set (second in the WCC). She also ranks second in the conference with a .388 hitting percentage.
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Senior Victoria Adelhelm leads the team in blocks with 112, an average of 1.18 per set (third in the WCC).
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Sophomore Michaela Christiaansen (fifth in the conference), Woolever and Orozco take the top three spots on the squad in digs with 365, 303 and 249, respectively.
