SAN FRANCISCO – For the second straight season, the San Francisco volleyball team opened the year as undefeated tournament champions after the first weekend of action. The Dons downed Bakersfield and Denver, both 3-1 matches, on Saturday at War Memorial Gym to take home the title in the 2015 San Francisco Invitational.

With the victory, the Dons stand at a 3-0 overall record, defeating teams from the Mountain West, WAC and Summit League. For her efforts in USF's three matches, Katarina Pilepic was named tournament most valuable player. The junior from Novi Vinodolski, Croatia, compiled 39 kills, 23 digs and seven total blocks on the weekend, including 16 kills in the championship match.
 "We changed her role this year so having her on the outside for the first tournament and seeing how she embraced it and how hard she worked, that's encouraging," noted head coach of the Dons, Gilad Doron. "Hopefully she just tasted it and she wants to do it more because she can be an impactful player for us in that position when she plays that well for sure. Hopefully, she grows from here."

Also earning individual accolades were freshman Madison Murtagh and sophomore libero Kim Gutierrez. Murtagh made her presence known early and often, compiling 19 total blocks, including six solo stuffs, from the middle. Gutierrez, a WCC All-Freshman team performer from a year ago, held down the Dons' defense with 39 total digs in USF's three matches.

"I have no words other than Madison deserves it. She worked really hard this summer and this preseason, she was excited to come here," said Doron. "When we knew she was going to have to play we challenged her, and to see her come in here and get the butterflies out quickly and today in the championship game she played phenomenal. She could very easily be co-MVP with the number of blocks and how efficient she was offensively."

In the tournament nightcap, which decided the Invitational winner, the Dons took on Denver seeking some payback for the tough loss to the Pioneers a year ago.  The back-and-forth battle saw USF take the first set 25-22 and scratch out a 26-24 win in the second to hold the halftime lead. But in the third frame, the Pioneers used a 13-7 spurt to close the set with the 25-22 win and extend the evening. By the fourth set, Denver had exhausted its power and USF began with the 8-2 advantage. The Dons continued to extend its lead and the Pioneers couldn't find an answer for Murtagh and sophomore Oluoma Okaro who powered the home team to the 25-16 victory in the final frame of the weekend.

"It's a great feeling to win the tournament, and beating a very athletic, talented Denver team that last year we fell a bit short with," explained Doron, as he recalled last year's five-set heartbreaker to the Pioneers. "I've got to feel good about it."

In USF's first match of the day, the Dons came away with the 3-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield. USF dropped the first set to the Roadrunners 25-22 before roaring back with 25-14 and 25-16 scores in sets two and three. The fourth set proved to be a barnburner and CSU Bakersfield nabbed the lead late in the match after Edithza Urias's kil put the score at 21-19 in favor of the visitors. But USF would edge back out to the lead with Kiara McKibben at the serve before closing the match with a 25-23 mark in the fourth set.

After spending the first weekend of the season in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym, now the Dons trek to Utah State to take on Southern Utah, Middle Tennessee and Utah State next weekend.

"The thing I liked about our team this weekend is we stuck together, we made adjustments, we had different players come in at different times, and we will need that on the road as well, and more," said Doron. "I hope this weekend sparked confidence in our young team and they can bring it home on the road and play with the same energy. Knowing sometimes it's going to be a tough environment, but we've got to be tested because it's going to be like this everywhere we go."
 
2015 San Francisco Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Most Valuable Player: Katarina Pilepic (USF)
Madison Murtagh (USF)
Kim Gutierrez (USF)
Kayla Principato (Denver)
Moni Corrujedo (Denver)
Alexa Saba (San Francisco State)
Luiza Martins (CSU Bakersfield)

Final Standings:

1. USF (3-0)
2. Denver (2-1)
3. San Diego State  (1-2)
4. CSU Bakersfield (0-3)