#WeAreSF
After a month away from the Hilltop, the San Francisco volleyball team returns home to begin conference action against Bay Area competitors Santa Clara and Saint Mary's. The Dons closed the non-conference portion of the season 7-5, finishing with a winning record in non-WCC competition for the fifth time in Gilad Doron's tenure with the Dons.
USF is coming off a 2013 season in which USF finished the year with a final record of 13-16, and a WCC mark of 9-9 to take fourth in the league.
What 2 Watch 4
San Francisco's Valentina Zaloznik continues to be a dominant force for the Dons in her senior season, compiling team-highs of 142 kills, 49 total blocks and 15 service aces.
After the Denver Invitational, the senior from Ljubno ob Savinji, Slovenia, brought her career kills total to 985, and now stands at 10th all-time on the career kills list after passing Laura Tinetti (1997-00) in the record books.
Offensively, Katarina Pilepic is second on the squad with 137 kills to go with 25 blocks. Freshman Kim Gutierrez is leading the defensive charge, amassing 201 digs with a 4.47 dig per set average, third in the WCC. Kiara McKibben took over primary setting duties in 2014 and has assisted on 384 scoring plays for the Dons, an average of 8.73 assists per set.
Know the Foe
Santa Clara is off to a hot start, sporting a 10-3 record to open the year. The Broncos lead the WCC with a .306 hitting percentage, paced by three players with at least 125 kills. Sabrina Clayton leads the team with 141 kills (3.36 per set). As a team Santa Clara also leads the league from the service line, with 2.2 aces per set, or 97 on the season, 22 of which are from the hand of Danielle Rottman.
Heading into the first weekend of conference action, Saint Mary's stands at 4-6 on the year, dropping its last three games on the schedule. The Gaels are paced by Samantha Tinsley's 126 total kills, 206 assists by Dalas Dodd, and a digging duo of Tinsley and Milena Popovic with more than 100 digs apiece.
Last Time Out
USF is coming off its first matches against ranked foes, facing then-No. 25 UCLA and No. 22 Hawaii in Honolulu. The Dons had a rough go on the island, finishing the weekend 0-3, but nabbed individual set victories in its matches against Utah State and Hawaii. In the matchup against the Rainbow Wahine, USF freshman Oluoma Okaro finished with a new career high of 12 kills.
Records Watch
Career Kills
8. Kathy Schindler (1982-85-85) - 1,052
9. Chiara Lawrence (1993-96) - 1,011
10. Valentina Zaloznik (2011-) - 985
11. Laura Tinetti (1997-00) - 976
Career Blocks
7. Laura Tinetti (1997-00) - 357
8. KeLicia Shorts (2002-05) - 355
9. Valentina Zaloznik (2011-) - 349
10. Sharon Mellen (1985-88) - 319 | Record-Breaking
The Dons got a big opening weekend at the San Francisco Invitational out of a multitude of players, including senior Valentina Zaloznik. She finished with 38 kills and a .492 attack percentage, nine blocks, four aces and a new USF single-match record after hitting .929 (13 kills on 14 attempts, no errors) in the Dons' 3-0 sweep of Fordham.
Conference Superlatives
Senior middle blocker was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 1, after her team-leading and record-setting performances at the San Francisco Invitational. Along with hitting .929 to set a new individual match record against Fordham Saturday, Zaloznik followed up her performance in the nightcap, finishing with 16 kills and a .444 attack percentage, five digs and three blocks as the Dons took down SEC foe Georgia 3-1.
Tournament Accolades
Valentina Zaloznik finished the preseason with three All-Tournament nods (Long Beach State, Hawaii, Denver) and one MVP award at the San Francisco Invitational.
Anja Segota added two All-Tournament awards to her resume, bookending the non-conference season. Katarina Pilepic and Kiara McKibben were also each tapped for honors as well.
Preseason Poll
The Dons were slated to finish sixth in the hotly-contested WCC, and Zaloznik was tapped for preseason All-WCC honors. Should Valentina earn a place on the first-team, it will mark her third occasion - a new USF milestone, as no other player has been named to the team three times.
Schedule-Tested
Along with two West Coast Conference tournament teams from a year ago, the Dons will compete against two non-conference foes that made it to the 2013 NCAA Championships, and face a total of 11 squads that closed the season in the top 100 of the RPI rankings. Three of USF's 2014 adversaries were ranked in the top 10 in the AVCA Coaches Poll at some point in the season.
A Look Ahead
After the split matches against Bay Area foes Santa Clara and Saint Mary's to close the month of September, the Dons hit the road to face off with two of the WCC's toughest teams - No. 11 BYU and No. 24 San Diego - Oct. 2 and 4.
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 |
