The University of San Francisco beach volleyball team returns to this sand this weekend.  The Dons are set to participate in the Cactus Classic hosted by the University of Arizona.  The two-day event begins on Friday at 9:00 a.m. PT.  USF will square off against Boise State, Arizona, Missouri State, and Arizona State this weekend.   
 
Date/Time: Friday Feb. 21 
Boise State vs USF (9:00 a.m.)
No. 15 Arizona vs Missouri State (12:00 p.m.)
Missouri State vs Boise State (2:00 p.m.)
No. 15 Arizona vs USF (3:00 p.m.)

Saturday Feb. 22
Missouri State vs USF (9:00 a.m.) **No Television**
No. 15 Arizona vs Boise State (11:15 a.m.; Pac-12 Network Arizona)
USF vs No. 20 Arizona State (11:30 a.m.; Pac-12 Network Arizona)
No. 15 Arizona vs Missouri State (1:45 p.m.; Pac-12 Network Arizona)
No. 20 ASU vs Boise State (3:00 p.m.; Pac-12 Network Arizona)

Site: Bear Down Beach (Tucson, Ariz.)   
TV:  Saturday on Pac-12 Network Arizona
Live Stats: None
 
USF Pairings
1 – Anna Dalla Vecchia/Laurie McGrath
2 – Emily Zinger/Lauren Speckman
3 – Ella Reames/Shannon Levinson
4 – Sophie Sydenham/Tanner Pemberton
5 – Katie Wagstaff/Trish Koutsoukos
 
Coaches Thoughts
"I'm excited about this team and this season," said head coach Frank Lavrisha.  "When creating this schedule, I knew we'd have a deeper more experienced team and I wanted to challenge them.  We begin the season playing two teams ranked in the AVCA Top-20 and will see seven teams overall that are ranked in the top-20."
 
About The Dons
This is the eighth season in program history, all-time the Dons are 49-64 on the beach.  Last year, USF went 12-13 – the second most wins in a season in program history.  Under Frank Lavrisha, the Dons are 16-23. The last time USF defeated a ranked team came on Mar. 15, 2016 when No. 13 USF defeated No. 18 Pacific 3-2 in Berkeley, Calif. This weekend, three players will be making their USF beach debut, in Katie Wagstaff, Laurie McGrath, and Lauren Speckman. McGrath is a freshman from Hilo, Hawaii.  Speckman is a graduate transfer from Marquette who played all four years on the indoor team. Key returners for the Dons this season are Dalla Vecchia and Zinger.  Last season, Dalla Vecchia earned All-WCC Second Team honors.  Zinger started the season in the number four spot last year but finished the year in the number two tandem.
 
The Opponents
This is the first time the Dons have faced Arizona, Arizona State, and Missouri State.  USF has faced Boise State twice and are 0-2.  The two teams first squared off on Apr. 3, 2015 falling 2-3.  Last time out against Boise State the Dons fell 0-5 on Mar. 11, 2017.  The Wildcats are ranked No. 15 in the preseason AVAC Poll, last season, Arizona went 25-6 and finished the year ranked No. 13 in the final AVCA poll.  ASU went 21-14 last season, most wins in program history.  Boise State finished last year 13-6. 
 
UP NEXT
The Dons will take on Feather River College and San Jose State on Saturday, Feb. 29 at the brand new Spartan Beach Courts at the South Campus Athletics Complex in San Jose.  The Dons and Spartans will play at Noon.