University of San Francisco Athletics

LOS GATOS, Calif. – The San Francisco sand volleyball team earned a split in its double-header with two South Bay foes Wednesday at Los Gatos HS.
 
The Dons opened the day with their second-straight shutout, downing newest Northern California Sand Volleyball Consortium member San Jose State, 5-0. The Dons picked up straight-set victories in four of their five matches.
 
In USF's No. 4 position, Emily Reed and Inbar Vinarsky got the nod for the Dons. The tandem bumped up a spot in the lineup, and San Jose State's Brittney Diffine and Lindsay Skadeland stretched the match to three sets. Reed and Vinarsky downed the Spartans' pair, 21-8, 13-21, 15-10, and picked up their fifth victory in a row.
 
Jessica Keenan and Anja Segota teamed up from the No. 5 position for the first time of the season. Keenan, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, Calif., took to the sand in her first career match as the duo earned a 21-8, 21-8 win.
 
"It was an intense competition all day long," co-head coach Eyal Zimet said. "I'm very proud of the our team for coming up with a great team win against San Jose State, which already competed more times this year than our entire season. It was exciting to see Jessica Keenan come in as the fifth team for the first time and show her skills on the court for us without any hesitation."
 
USF turned around to face Santa Clara in the afternoon match, and the tight battle went down to the end.
 
"It was hot and playing back-to-back was tough," co-head coach Gilad Doron said. "Our team showed great resilience and fought hard with some great plays and comebacks. Kat and Court were down 10-6 in the third before they came back to win 15-12. Anja and Becky won in a tough match, and Inbar and Emily almost came back at the end."
 
The Dons picked up victories at the Nos. 3 and 4 positions against the Broncos. Katarina Pilepic and Courtney Sabahi notched their second win of the day, taking down Gigi Cresto and Taylor Dayton in a three-set affair, coming back in the decisive third set. The duo now stands at 5-4 on the year, earning victories in their last three outings.
 
USF could not manage a third point against Santa Clara as its longstanding rival netted the 3-2 victory to close the day's contests.
 
"We were extremely happy with the level of focus and effort our players showed against a very tough opponent, " Zimet said of the Broncos. "They already beat Stanford two weeks ago, and were playing on their home court very aggressively.
 
"There were a ton of new little achievements we saw from our pairs and we are looking forward to our last competition of the season versus Stanford."
 
The Dons will enjoy a week hiatus from competition before returning to the sand against Stanford. First serve from the Cardinal's courts is slated for 3:30 p.m. on April 22.
 

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San Francisco 5, San Jose State 0
April 8 | Los Gatos HS | Los Gatos, Calif.
 
No. 1 – Sara Staengle/Valentina Zaloznik (USF) def. McKenzie Palassou/Megan Powers (SJSU); 21-6, 21-10
No. 2 – Malina Terrell/Jurja Vlasic (USF) def. Kiely/Pieper/Tyanna Roy (SJSU); 21-18, 21-13
No. 3 – Katarina Pilepic/Courtney Sabahi (USF) def. Lauren Jacobson/Cori O'Donoghue (SJSU); 21-17, 21-17
No. 4 – Emily Reed/Inbar Vinarsky (USF) def. Brittney Diffine/Lindsay Skadeland (SJSU); 21-8, 13-21, 15-10
No. 5 – Jessica Keenan/Anja Segota (USF) def. Lyndsay Albiani/Feliciia Segura (SJSU); 21-8, 21-8
 
Santa Clara 3, San Francisco 2
No. 1 – Nikki Hess/Taylor Milton (SCU) def. Sara Staengle/Valentina Zaloznik (USF); 21-19, 21-15
No. 2 – Sabrina Clayton/Dani Rottman (SCU) def. Malina Terrell/Jurja Vlasic (USF); 21-18, 21-14
No. 3 – Katarina Pilepic/Courtney Sabahi (USF) def. Gigi Cresto/Taylor Dayton (SCU); 17-21, 21-16, 15-12
No. 4 – Rebecca Kopilovitch/Anja Segota (USF) def. Madison Dutra/Sarah Vaccaro (SCU); 21-15, 7-21, 15-12
No.l 5 – Lacey Maas/Katy Schatzman (SCU) def. Emily Reed/Inbar Vinarsky (USF); 19-21, 21-12, 15-13