University of San Francisco Athletics

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USF at Loyola Marymount MATCH 11 Sept. 19 @ 7 p.m. Live stats || Web stream 5-4, 0-0 West Coast Conference All-Time vs. Lions: 15-42 Last meeting: Nov. 17, 2012; W 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-12)

USF at Pepperdine MATCH 12 Sept 21 @ 1 p.m. Live stats || Web stream 6-2, 0-0 West Coast Conference All-Time vs. Waves: 4-52 Last meeting: Nov. 10, 2012; W 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-20, 25-19)

#WeAreSF
The University of San Francisco women's volleyball begins the 2013 West Coast Conference slate  with a road trip to LA. First is a date with Loyola Marymount, who enters league action sporting a 5-4 overall record. Next, USF will head to Malibu to tangle with Pepperdine, who boasts a 6-2 record in non-conference play.Receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, the Waves knocked off No. 19 Kentucky 3-0 and follwed it up with a 3-1 win over Louisville in the Bluegrass Battle to close the non-conference schedule on a high. Pepperdine will host Santa Clara Thursday evening to open WCC play in the first-ever WCC Game of the Week on TheW.tv.

Potent Quotables
"Our team is very excited and prepared to start WCC play this weekend. LMU and Pepperdine are both very good teams, and we will need players to step up in order to get road wins and start conference strong." - head coach Gilad Doron on the league opener

Aztec Invitational Remix
USF went 3-1 on the weekend, besting its four opponents by a combined score of 9-7 through four matches. Starting the tournament on a three-game winning streak, the weekend's only blemish was in the Aztec Invitational capper, as the host San Diego State, took care of the Dons 3-0 to close the non-conference season for the Dons. USF heads into WCC action with a 4-6 non-conference record.

Junior Valentina Zaloznik led the charge, posting 49 kills on a team-leading .359 attack percentage. She leaped for 19 total blocks, inlcuding five unassisted, on the weekend, to finish with 63.0 total points. Freshman Katarina Pilepic continues to blossom in her first collegiate season, posting a team high 51 kills, and Anja Segota added 48 kills to round out the primary offensive production.

Emily Reed, came into her own after earning the starting nod for the Dons. She added a team-high nine service aces - nearly half of the Dons' 20 total on the weekend - to make her mark. Senior Mackenzie Murtagh paced the team with 92 assists (5.75 a/s) and 38 digs.

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

USF Career Digs Leaders 3. Melanie Kaiser (1988-91) - 1,246 4. Brittanie Budinger (2000-03) - 1,191 5. Rebecca Kopilovitch (2010-) - 1,114

USF Career Kills Leaders 15. Alix Gombos (2005-08) - 824 16. KeLicia Shorts (2002-05) -  811 17. Malina Terrell (2010-) - 745

Schedule Tested – Conference Prepared
All told, the Dons will compete against a stacked schedule featuring 10 NCAA tournament teams from a year ago, comprising more than half of USF's 19 opponents for the 2013 season. USF will play 16 of its 28 matches against teams that made the NCAA field of 64 in 2012. Included in the mix are postseason perennials North Carolina and Long Beach State, new ACC member Notre Dame and Mountain West co-champion San Diego State, along with the always stout West Coast Conference slate.

Home is Where the Heart Is
... and for the USF volleyball team, their heart is in the City by the Bay. All told, the Dons have traveled more the 53,220 miles from Hometown to the Hilltop and represent six countries, and three states.

Get Connected
Fans can keep up on the latest in USF Athletics in a variety of ways.
Follow USF Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ DonsAthletics
Follow USF volleyball on Facebook at www.facebook.com/University.of.SanFrancisco.Volleyball
Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/usfdonsathletics