Box Score (Honolulu, Hawai'i) - San Francisco volleyball recorded a record day Saturday, as the Dons defeated No. 25 California 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12) at the Hawaiian Airlines Classic in Honolulu, O'ahu. The win was not only notable for the team, but also for head coach
Gilad Doron, who became USF's all-time wins leader with the victory.
“It's the best game we have played this year,” said Doron. “I think after last night we wanted to play tougher and with that same intensity. A lot of our team stepped up at different times, when we needed them to. We needed to play together and well and we did that. Cal played well, but tonight, we played better. Anytime you beat a top-25 team, it makes a win that much sweeter. Cal played well. It was a well deserved win for our team and a great way for all of us to prove ourselves.”
The win marked the first time in program history the Dons have defeated the Bears. Prior to Saturday's contest, USF was 0-30 all-time against Cal. It also marked San Francisco's first win against a nationally-ranked opponent since it swept then-No. 16 San Diego last season.
Doron became the program's all-time win leader, earning his 77th victory with the Green and Gold. The milestone victory moved Doron past former head coach Jeff Nelson, who posted a 76-51 mark on the Hilltop. Currently, Doron holds a 77-72 all-time record with the Dons. For his career, Doron has recorded 123 career wins.
“I have to thank all of my players and assistant coaches for helping me reach this point,” commented Doron. “Without them, it wouldn't be possible. They have put in hard work and effort to help our program get to where it is. My success wouldn't be possible without them.”
San Francisco was led in the match by a double-double efforts from
Jocelyn Levig and
Leanna Ludes. Levig matched a team-high 16 kills while adding 13 digs. Ludes ran the offense, dishing out 49 assists, while adding 13 digs.
Ester de Vries and
Valentina Zaloznik added double-digith kills as well, while
Anja Segota and
Rebecca Kopilovitch joined Levig and Ludes with 10-plus digs.
California jumped out to an early lead thanks to a victory in the opening set. San Francisco led for a majority of the set, including a 15-11 advantage before Cal went on a 4-1 run to regain the lead. The two squads would exchange the lead over the remainder of the set, before the Bears took four of the final five points for the win.
San Francisco held strong throughout the second set, despite falling behind early. Down 14-9, the Dons rallied for eight straight points behind
Leanna Ludes' serving efforts. Five of the eight points came thanks to attack errors by the Bears. USF continued the momentum throughout the remainder of the set, only allowing five more points for California.
The Dons opened the third set with the same momentum as the second, going up by as many as six points late in the set.
California forced a fifth set by taking advantage of a tiring USF squad in the fourth set San Francisco led for a majority of the set but Cal would rally late for the win.
In the decisive set, the Green and Gold trailed early but scored six straight points behind the serving efforts of Zaloznik to capture the victory.
San Francisco returns to the court Sunday as they face Baylor in the final day of the Hawaiian Airlines Classic. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST.
