University of San Francisco Athletics

Complete match notes (PDF)

	vs. Saint Mary's (10-5, 6-1 WCC) Match 18 Thursday, Oct. 17 @ 6:30 p.m. Tickets | Live stats/Video		USF DONS (7-10, 3-4 WCC) RSVP on FACEBOOK		vs. Pacific (10-8, 3-4 WCC) Match 19 Saturday, October 19 @ 1 p.m. Tickets | Live stats/Video
KILLS ATTACK PCT. ASSISTS ACES DIGS TOTAL BLOCKS	824 .243  777 105 864 151.0		840 .233 767 85 9.39 124.0		815 .214 756 90 923 160.5	KILLS ATTACK PCT. ASSISTS ACES DIGS TOTAL BLOCKS
	All-Time vs. Gaels: 35-36 Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2012; L 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 19-25)		Post-match autograph sessions for the fans!		All-Time vs. Tigers: 1-11 Last meeting: Sept. 17, 2005; W 3-2 (30-24, 30-22, 27-30, 20-30, 15-10)

#WeAreSF
The University of San Francisco women's volleyball looks to rebound at home after completing arguably the toughest road trip of the season. The Dons faced off with two Top 25 teams, falling in straight sets to both No. 12 San Diego and No. 24 BYU.
 
A bright spot of the action in Southern California came as senior libero Rebecca Kopilovitch leaped to fourth on the all-time career digs list, passing USF Hall of Famer Brittanie Budinger. After the weekend of competition, Kopilovitch stands at 1,205 total digs and is 42 away from third on the list. Her 23 digs in the weekend's six set, puts her digs per set average at 3.88 and is good for third in the West Coast Conference standings.
 
This week, the Dons welcome their oldest rival into War Memorial Gym for a Thursday match with Saint Mary's. USF's first win in school history, dating back to 1979, was against the Gaels.
 
"Being part of the longest Bay Area tradition with Saint Mary's is an honor," head coach Gilad Doron says. "I can say how much better both programs have gotten since the rivalry started back in 1979."
 
The Dons' second match of the week, somewhat in opposite to the longevity with the Gaels, comes as USF welcomes another Bay Area foe in new conference member Pacific to the Hilltop. The Dons and the Tigers have not met in Doron's tenure at USF.
 
"It is great of have Pacific join our league," Doron notes. "They ahve a great tradition in volleyball dating to an NCAA championships, and knowing we added a quality team to an already strong league is great. We will have to live up to the challenge of playing them twice a year now."
 
Scouting the Dons
USF junior Valentina Zaloznik is leading the way with 200 total kills on a .357 attack percentage, 62 total blocks and 22 service aces. Her attack percentage ranks third in the WCC and 69th in the nation. The native of Ljubno ob Savinji, Slovenia, is three kills away from moving to 18th on the all-time lists.
 
Senior Mackenzie Murtagh leads USF in assists on the year, tallying 366, or 5.28 per set, to pace the Dons. Kopilovitch stands as the USF dig leader in 2013, with 233 to her name thus far.

Records Watch
Three USF players are inching their way up the Dons all-time leaders lists:

USF Career Digs Leaders 1. Haley Carroll (2006-09)- 2,089 2. Brynn Maurer (2004-07) - 1,703 3. Melanie Kaiser (1988-91) - 1,246 4. Rebecca Kopilovitch (2010-) - 1,205

USF Career Kills Leaders 15. Alix Gombos (2005-08) - 824 16. KeLicia Shorts (2002-05) - 811 17. Malina Terrell (2010-) - 777 18. Megan Morse (1991-94) - 741 19. Valentina Zaloznik (2011-) - 739

Scouting the Gaels
Saint Mary's is led by a duo of hitters in seniors Kristina Graven and Jordan Shaw. Graven has compiled 210 kills with Shaw sitting one behind at 209. Setting duties are almost exclusively handled by Dalas Dodd, who has helped on 678 plays to lead the conference as she stands in 22nd nationally with 11.30 assists per set. Dodd's .40 aces per set puts her in 41st in the country as the Gaels sit in 14th in the category as a team. Saint Mary's is also in the national Top 50 in assists per set (35th - 12.95) and kills per set (45th - 13.73).
 
Scouting the Tigers
Pacific is looking for their first win on the road of the season as they play a pair away from Stockton this week. The Tigers are led by Kat Schultz's 2.78 kills and Kimmy Whitson's 8.82 assists per set. Gillian Howard is denying an average of 1.32 balls per set to sit in third in the WCC and 26th nationally in blocking.
 
Broadcast Information
Livestats are available for all home matches at usfdons.com/LIVE. Smartphone users can also access stats at usfstats.com.
Pat Olson, long-time voice of USF men's basketball, will have the call courtside for all USF matches all season long - the free video broadcast, courtesy of Stretch Internet, can be seen and heard at usfdons.com/LIVE.

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