MORAGA/SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- With the start of the West Coast Conference volleyball season now underway, the University of San Francisco volleyball team (7-5, 0-1) is back in action looking to get back on track as they will face off with the Saint Mary's Gaels (5-5, 2-0) in the East Bay Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. before returning home to face the #20 Pepperdine Waves (9-4, 0-2) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. USF will then finish their three match week by hosting the Loyola Marymount Lions (6-6, 1-2) this Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. to complete a busy week of conference action.

The Dons are looking to get back to their winning ways after they began the season by rattling off six consecutive wins as they look to compete in a loaded WCC. USF's trio of Claire Crijns, Shyia Richardson and Orsula Staka have been key contributors to the Dons success in the early portions of the season as the revamped roster has provided early and immediate dividends for the squad. 

MATCH 13 INFORMATION:
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Saint Mary's (5-5, 2-0)
Location: Moraga, Calif. / University Credit Union Pavilion
Watch: WCC Network 
Live Statistics: Sidearm Stats

MATCH 14 INFORMATION:
Date: Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: #20 Pepperdine (9-4, 0-2)
Location: San Francisco, Calif. / War Memorial at the Sobrato Center 
Watch: WCC Network
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast

MATCH 15 INFORMATION:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Opponent: LMU (6-6, 1-2)
Location: San Francisco, Calif. / War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Watch: WCC Network
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• USF will look to get their footing back competing within the WCC as they came up short at home against Santa Clara last Thursday to begin conference action.
• Key additions to the Dons squad this season Maria Petkova and Isadora Nicolai played a key role in the match against the Broncos, as Petkova matched her season-high with 18 assists while Nicolai registered an impressive 29 assists as she did a tremendous job of setting up her teammates for scoring opportunities.
• The Dons have excelled away from home so far to begin the 2022 season with six of their first seven victories coming away from the Hilltop as they look to keep that positive momentum rolling on Tuesday. 

SCOUTING THE GAELS:

• Saint Mary's enters Tuesday night's match fresh off a pair of road conference victories over Gonzaga and Portland as they reached the .500 mark for the first time during the 2022 season.
• Graduate student Hawley Harrer has been a key piece of the Gaels' offesnive attack this season as she leads her team with 124 kills and 143.5 points so far this season.
• On the defensive side, junior libero Makenna Joyce has been crucial to her team's success in limiting their opposition as she has totaled 132 digs while playing in 37 sets. 

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Top 25 ranked Pepperdine has been a standard bearer for the conference for years, but are off to a slow start in conference play as they dropped a pair of road matches beginning WCC play against #4 San Diego and #16 BYU.
• Junior middle blocker Meg Brown has been tremendous for the Waves this season, as she currently leads her team with 178 points and is second in kills with 136 for Pepperdine.
• On the defensive side, graduate student Riley Patterson has been a stalwart in her first season with the Waves as she leads her squad with 209 total digs playing in 50 total sets. 

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

• The Lions enter the second week of conference action with a .500 overall record as they picked up their first WCC win over Portland after losing two close road matches to both #4 San Diego and #16 BYU.
• Sophomore outside hitter Kari Geissberger has been the key cog in LMU's offensive attack as she leads her team with 157 total points and 127 kills so far this season.
• Defensively, sophomore libero Sam Hastings has been instrumental in the team's defensive strategy as she's played 37 total sets this season and is far and away leading her team with 119 digs in 2022. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Live streaming and live statistics for both Tuesday and Thursday's matches can be viewed through the team's schedule page. 

FOLLOW US:
For more information and updates on the University of San Francisco volleyball program, be sure to follow the Dons on Twitter @USFDonsVB, @USFDonsVB on Instagram and @USFDonsVball on Facebook.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.