THE RUNDOWN
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Under the new leadership of head coach Frank Lavrisha, the University of San Francisco women's beach volleyball team picked up their first in the 2018 campaign while at the Bay Area Kick-Off Tournament. The tournament was hosted by No. 16 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. and included the host team, USF, Pacific, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, and Santa Clara. 

Overall, the Dons were 1-3 in their contests this weekend. They competed in two matches Friday and wrapped up with two on Saturday. 

Their single win came in the opening match of the tournament against Santa Clara. The Dons took down the Broncos, 3-2. At USF's one and two pairs were Haley Howell and Carly Lowry, and Julia Topor and Anna Dalla Vecchia, respectively. Each of the top positions swept their games, 2-0, with Howell/Lowry earning the win-clinching match. In the five spot, Sabrina Blackwell and Laura Leap, topped Santa Clara 2-1. 

Later in the afternoon versus Stanford, the three's pair of Nora Buvarp-Lavik and Camille Araujo picked up the Dons lone win. 

In Saturday's contests, the Dons were swept by Saint Mary's (5-0) and taken down by Pacific (4-1). Pi'ikea Clemens and Shannon Levinson earned USF's single match win against UOP, playing in the fifth spot. The pair was able to earn a 2-0 victory. 

In his first year at the helm of both the indoor and beach programs on the Hilltop, the tournament gave Coach Lavrisha his first career beach volleyball victory.

WHAT COACH HAS TO SAY
"The Dons were tested opening weekend with a strong field of teams including host Stanford, who is ranked 16th, and Saint Mary's, who is receiving top-25 votes. The victory over Santa Clara gives us an indication of the successes we are headed for this season. We are bolstered with our early results and look forward to improving on solid start."

UP NEXT
The Dons will head to the Big West Challenge next, a tournament they are co-hosting. Competition will include CSUN, Cal Poly and Sacramento State. It will be a one-day tournament on Saturday, March 10 in Santa Cruz, Calif. 

ALL THE DETAILS
1's - Haley Howell/Carly Lowry (1-3)
2's - Julia Topor/Anna Dalla Vecchia (1-3)
3's - Nora Buvarp-Lavik/Camille Araujo (1-3)
4's
    v. Santa Clara | Shannon Levinson/Pi'ikea Clemens (0-1) 
    v. Stanford/SMC/UOP | Sabrina Blackwell/Laura Leap (0-3)
5's 
    v. Santa Clara | Sabrina Blackwell/Laura Leap (1-0)
    v. Stanford/SMC/UOP | Shannon Levinson/Pi'ikea Clemens (1-2) 
Exh. - Trish Koutsoukos/Emily Zinger (1-2)
 

FRIDAY 9 am PT	Santa Clara vs. San Francisco
1- Odom/Mead (SCU) vs. Howell/Lowry (USF)	21-18 USF, 21-16 USF
2 - Lindberg/Reiner (SCU) vs. Topor/Dalla Vecchia (USF)	28-26 USF, 21-11 USF
3 Powers/Nwabuzoh (SCU) vs. Buvarp-Lavik/Araujo (USF)	21-17 SCU, 21-16 USF, 18-16 SCU
4 - Kantor/San Juan (SCU) vs. Levinson/Clemens (USF)	21-15 SCU, 21-13 SCU
5 - Gajdka/Reineking (SCU) vs. Blackwell/Leap (USF)	22-20 SCU, 21-19 USF, 15-12 USF
Exh. - Brittany/McCreadie (SCU) vs. Koutsoukos/Zinger (USF)	21-12 USF, 21-17 SCU, 15-10 USF
Final Score	USF 3, SCU 2

 

FRIDAY 3 pm PT	Stanford vs. San Francisco
1 - Plummer/Villapando (STAN) vs. Howell/Lowry (USF)	21-14 STAN, 21-8 STAN
2 - Hentz/Smith (STAN) vs. Topor/Dalla Vecchia (USF)	21-17 STAN, 21-12 STAN
3 - Bowen/Formico (STAN) vs. Buvarp-Lavik/Araujo (USF)	21-11 STAN, 21-6 USF, 15-12 USF
4 - Keefe/Raquel (STAN) vs. Blackwell/Leap (USF)	21-18 STAN, 24-22 STAN
5 - Anderson/Chang (STAN) vs. Levinson/Clemens (USF)	21-10 STAN, 21-14 STAN
Exh. - Richardson/Sharp (STAN) vs. Koutsoukos/Zinger (USF)	21-12 STAN, 21-10 STAN
Final Score	STAN 4, USF 1

 

Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco	SATURDAY 9 am PT
21-13 SMC, 21-9 SMC	1 Hughes/Rund (SMC) - vs. Howell/Lowry (USF)
21-12 USF, 22-20 SMC, 15-11 SMC	2 - Bible/L. Knudsen (SMC) vs. Dalla Vecchia/Topor (USF)
21-14 SMC, 21-11 SMC	3 - Chase/Hernandez (SMC) vs. Araujo/Buvarp Lavik (USF)
21-11 SMC, 21-10 SMC	4 - Wilkerson/Young (SMC) vs. Blackwell/Leap (USF)
21-11 SMC, 21-13 SMC	5 - Laird/K. Knudsen (SMC) vs. Clemens/Levinson (USF)
21-17 SMC, 21-18 SMC	Exh. - Baumann/Kendrick (SMC) vs. Koutsoukos/Zinger (USF)
SMC 5, USF 0	Final Score

 

Pacific vs. San Francisco	SATURDAY Noon PT
21-16 UOP, 21-17 USF, 15-11 UOP	1- LaBass/Wine (UOP) vs. Howell/Lowry (USF)
21-19 USF, 33-31 UOP, 15-10 UOP	2 - Long/Poncetta (UOP) vs. Dalla Vecchia/Topor (USF)
21-9 UOP, 21-5 UOP	3 - Gotterba/Holt (UOP) vs. Araujo/Buvarp Lavik (USF)
23-21 UOP, 21-15 UOP	4 - DeSchrijver/Fleming (UOP) vs. Blackwell/Leap (USF)
21-16 USF, 21-17 USF	5 - Lines/Petnicki (UOP) vs. Clemens/Levinson (USF)
--, --, --	Exh.
UOP 4, USF 1	Final Score