Complete tournament notesMatch 1: San Francisco vs. San Diego State • Aug. 28 @ 6:30 p.m.All-time vs. Aztecs: 1-6 • 0-2 at home
Current streak: L2
Last meeting: 09/24/13 (A) • L, 3-0
 • 24-26, 17-25, 18-25
FREE PIZZA for the first 100 students at the match!Match 2: San Francisco vs. Bakersfield  • Aug. 29 @ 12:30 p.m.All-time vs. Roadrunners: 2-1 • 2-0 at home
Current streak: W2
Last meeting: 09/26/09 (H) • W, 3-1
 • 25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21
Match 3: San Francisco vs. Denver  • Aug. 29 @ 7 p.m.All-time vs. Pioneers:1-2 •0-1 at home
Current streak: L1
Last meeting: 09/19/14 (A) • L, 2-3Â
• 20-25, 28-30, 26-24, 25-22, 13-15
#15sports1team
The Dons open the 2015 campaign with gusto, hosting the San Francisco Invitational at War Memorial Gym. USF welcomes the trio of San Diego State, Bakersfield and Denver to the two-day six-match affair.Â
Broadcast Information
Livestats are available for all matches at usfstats.com. Streaming for all Dons volleyball home matches is available free of charge on theW.tv. All the action. Anytime. Anywhere.
Long-time USF broadcaster
Pat Olson has the call from courtside.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Aug. 284 p.m. • Denver vs. CSU Bakersfield
6:30 p.m. • USF vs. San Diego State
Saturday, Aug. 2910:30 a.m. • San Diego State vs. Denver
12:30 p.m. • USF vs. Bakersfield
4:30 p.m. • San Diego State vs. Bakersfield
7 p.m. • USF vs. Denver
Know the Foes
San Diego State enters War Memorial Gym after a 14-15 record a year ago, and a 9-9 mark in Mountain West play. Sophomore Alexis Cage posted 3.0 kills per set to lead the squad in her first season of collegiate volleyball and headlines the Aztecs returning trio of starters. San Diego State was selected to again finish sixth in the league's preseason poll.
Bakersfield finished the 2014 campaign with a 16-15 mark and third place finish in the league standings under first year head coach Giovana Melo. The Roadrunners are paced by senior Kelsee Sawyer, who became just the 10th CSU Bakersfield volleyball player to reach the 1,000 career kill plateau in the WAC Tournament Championship match to close the season. Bakersfield was selected to finish fourth in the WAC, but was one of four teams to receive at least one first place vote in the tally.
Denver is coming off a 27-7 season and a Summit League title in 2014. Fresh off their first NCAA Tournament appearance, the Pioneers return junior outside hitters Nola Basey and Moni Correjudo who both went off for over 400 kills apiece a season ago, and senior middle blocker Sarah Schmid. The squad was picked as preseason conference favorites, receiving seven first-place votes by the league's coaches.
Numbers Watch
Kim Gutierrez … needs 295 digs to move to 15th on the all-time list
Kiara McKibben … needs 94 assists to jump to 10th on the career assists tally, and 628 assists to reach the 2,000 mark
Katarina Pilepic … needs 360 kills to hit 1,000 for her career as a Don
Preseason Poll
The Dons were selected to finish tied for eighth in the West Coast Conference's annual preseason poll. USF received 22 points in the poll, alongside Saint Mary's and above Portland. After a record-setting march to the 2014 NCAA National Championship match, BYU was picked as the unanimous favorite to win the 2015 crown.
Academic Excellence
The Dons continue to uphold the First Pillar through a high standard of academic achievement. For the fourth consecutive year, the team was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as a top performing team in the classroom for maintaining at least at 3.3 cumulative team gpa for the 2014-15 academic year.Â
Additional to receiving AVCA accolades, 12 USF volleyball players were selected to the West Coast Conference commissioner's honor roll with three women earning gold honors.
Valentina Zaloznik was tapped for the WCC All-Academic Team for the third season, and the trio of
Inbar Vinarsky,
Sara Staengle and
Kiara McKibben earned honorable mention status for their performance in the classroom.
Community Commitment
USF's volleyball players continuously participate in the department's community relations initiatives annually, including reading to youth through local elementary schools and San Francisco RBI, demonstrating the pyramid of success through the Harper for Kids program and serving meals at the St. Vincent de Paul Society.Â
In addition, head coach
Gilad Doron and student-athletes
Jurja Vlasic and
Anja Segota traveled to Lima, Peru, over winter break to volunteer their time and efforts. The trip, through the University's Arrupe Immersion Program, gave the trio the opportunity to live, work and reflect in the economically marginalized community by teaching local children how sports can help transform their lives and communities.
Hall of Famers
In February, Haley Carrol '09 became the fifth woman in USF volleyball history to earn a place in the USF Athletics Hall of Fame. One of the best defensive players to come through the Hilltop, Carroll was a three-time All-WCC performer, including first team selections in 2007 and '09. Her 2,089 digs ranks first on USF's all-time career list, nearly 400 more than her closest pursuer. In 2007, the Gilroy native was named the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year and she played a key role on USF's 2008 NCAA Tournament team.Â
Head coach
Gilad Doron shared the spotlight at San Francisco RBI's fourth annual All-Star Dinner and Hall of Fame induction in May. He was recognized for his ongoing advocacy of the literacy program, alongside fellow USF head coaches
Nino Giarratano (baseball) and
Helen Lehman-Winters (cross country and track & field).
A Look Ahead
USF hits the road for a pair of tournament weekends to open the month of September.
First, the Dons head to Utah State to face off with Southern Utah, Middle Tennessee and Utah State Sept. 4-5. Then, a trip to the East Coast is in order at the St. John's Kaiser Classic. There, USF will face Cornell, George Mason, Central Connecticut and St. John's, Sept. 11-12.
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 and on Twitter all season long for the latest news and updates. Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/usfdonsathletics or tune in to Comcast SportsNet California for the second season of USF's monthly cable feature series, "Behind the Mask". Check local listings for air times and dates.
