Volleyball: Dons Dealt Losses By WCC Powerhouses San Diego and Brigham Young

USF hosted two ranked teams this past week at War Memorial Gym. The Dons suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against No. 8 San Diego on Saturday afternoon, and were swept 3-0 by No. 21 Brigham Young two days earlier. Following this week’s matches, USF dropped to 11-13 overall and 7-7 in the West Coast Conference (WCC), and are currently tied for fifth place.

The Dons did all they could to upset San Diego (21-3, 13-2 WCC), but fell just short of a win. Led by freshman outside hitter Katarina Pilepic’s 21 kills, USF managed to push the match to a full five sets but was not able to notch the victory in the end.

“Pilepic is a force for us when she is on and we have to use her the most we can,” Head Coach Gilad Doron told USFDons.com. “She stayed positive today and was really on. We needed one more player to step up but San Diego is an incredible team. We are pretty close and if we keep our minds together we’ll be able to beat some teams down the stretch.”

After dropping the first set 25-18, the Dons rallied to win the next two sets and took a 2-1 lead.  In the pivotal fourth set, both teams were evenly matched and the score was held fairly close. However, after USF had built a 21-19 lead, the Toreros came back with five straight points and ultimately took the set 25-23.

In the final and deciding set, the Dons took an early 8-4 lead, putting themselves in position for a huge win. However, it was not meant to be, and San Diego pulled away to win the set 15-10 and clinch the victory. Along with Pilepic’s standout performance, junior middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik and senior outside hitter Malina Terrell added 17 and 12 kills respectively for the Dons.

USF faced BYU on Thursday with hopes of extending its four-game home winning streak. The Dons started out strong in the first set, keeping up with the WCC-leading Cougars early in the game until BYU (20-5, 13-2) went on multiple scoring runs. USF could not respond with points of their own and dropped the first set 25-20.

The second set followed a similar pattern, and going into the third set down 2-0, the Dons were in danger of losing to the Cougars in straight sets. BYU came back from the locker room after halftime extremely strong, and with the help of seven straight points, left USF with no chance of a comeback. The Cougars took the third set 25-8 and sat the Dons down in a 3-0 victory. In the defeat, San Francisco scored a team-high 11 kills from Pilepic along with 14 assists and 12 digs from senior setter Mackenzie Murtagh. USF looks to bounce back from a three-game losing streak when they meet up with the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 14.

Volleyball: Dons Top Santa Clara 3-1, Increase Home Winning Streak to Four Games

The season’s longest home stand ended on a high for the Dons, as they proved that they are a force to be reckoned with in the Bay Area. USF completed three straight wins against Bay Area rivals with a 3-1 victory against the Santa Clara Broncos at War Memorial Gym on Friday night. The Dons are now 10-10 on the season and 6-4 in WCC play, good for fourth in the conference.

In addition to besting Saint Mary’s and Pacific last week, USF is now on a four-game home winning streak, its first since the 2009 season.

On Friday, the Dons took the first set 25-22 and also saw senior libero Rebecca Kopilovitch take possession of third place on USF’s all-time dig list with her six digs in the set. She went on to end the game with a match-high 20 digs.

“It’s just fun to play defense and go for everything and frustrate the other teams,” Kopilovitch told USFDons.com after her personal milestone match. “In order to dig we have to have a great block setup and that’s something that we’ve been working on. The girls have been doing a great job of blocking the other team and having the ball go to where it needs to go to make our job on defense much easier.”

USF fans were worried at the start of the second set, when the Broncos jumped ahead quickly and gained a 10-4 lead on the Dons. However, a delay in the game due to a rotation problem proved to be just what USF needed to regroup and stop Santa Clara’s momentum. The Dons eventually took the set 25-19 and were up two sets to none heading into halftime.

‘They definitely had the momentum, but after the delay it gave us a chance to catch our breath and I think that in combination with them being a little bit confused and they lost momentum right there,” associate head coach Ken Ko told USFDons.com. “Before you knew it, it was 10-all and it gave us new life and we really pushed forward and got ahead.”

Santa Clara came back from the break strong and earned a victory in the third set by a score of 25-22, before the Dons put the final nail in the coffin by taking the fourth set 25-17. This victory signaled a season sweep of the Broncos for only the second time in the two schools’ 34-year series history.

Led by senior outside hitter Malina Terrell’s 17 kills, USF managed to hit .298 in the match, their second best offensive outing in conference play this season. With the help of senior setter Mackenzie Murtagh’s 31 assists and sophomore setter Jurja Vlasic’s 16 assists, the Dons powered themselves to their third straight win in two weeks.

On Saturday, USF’s volleyball alumnae returned for their annual alumni weekend festivities, which consisted of USF alumni playing against the current Dons squad.

Following the Santa Clara match, USF now heads back on the road for two games. They face Portland in Portland, Ore. at 7:00 p.m. tonight and Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Women’s Basketball’s Four Fresh Faces

The habits, hobbies and past basketball careers of USF’s new freshmen hoopers 

(From left) Hashima Carothers, Rachel Howard, Kalyn Simon and Claudia Price. These four freshmen are set to make an immediate impact as the Dons get ready to rumble this season. (Photo Courtesy of Dons Athletics)

Kalyn Simon

The 5-foot-9-inch guard from nearby San Jose, Calif. said that the biggest reason she chose USF was because she has always loved the city for its diversity and beauty. Once here, she found that she liked the small classes and the small campus as it made the community here feel like a tight-knit one.

Kayln Simon was part of a state champion team with Archbishop Mitty High School, but even after facing the best high school teams, she had to adjust to the speed and skill of Division I college ball.

“College basketball is played at a much faster pace. The players are smarter, more athletic and stronger,” she said. “The hardest part to adapt to was the conditioning level and the tempo which we are expected to play with.”

Simon is prepared to work hard this season and hopes to make a run for the WCC Championship this upcoming season.

When she is not working out on the court or in the classroom, Simon likes to spend her free time exploring the city with her teammates or just hanging out with some friends.

“I love our team. Especially the fact that we are a mix of different personalities, which makes all the time we spend together really fun.”

Claudia Price

Basketball is a priority for Claudia Price, but so is quality education, which is why she made the choice to attend USF. The freshman biology major was placed on the academic honor roll for all four years of high school. After college, the she is considering a job as a dentist.

Along with excelling in her studies, the Mesquite, Texas native also performs on the court. As a high school senior, she averaged 16.6 points per game and led the state in rebounds, averaging 14.4.

For the season, the 5-foot-11-inch forward’s personal goals include contributing to the team in any way she can, being a threat on the court and being a team player.

Rachel Howard

Rachel Howard, a 5-foot-10-inch guard from Berkeley, Calif. was a three-time Northern California champion and three-time state runner-up with Berkeley High School. She chose to play at USF because she believes that the team and the coaching staff are the best in the country.

“My goal for the season is…to simply get better in every way,” Howard told USFDons.com. “Get stronger, smarter, quicker. I want to be a lethal shooter.”

When she is not playing basketball, the Bay Area native’s hobbies include dancing and playing card games.

Hashima Carothers

“Shima” is a kinesiology major originally from Las Vegas, Nev. The 5-foot-11-inch freshman forward not only played four years of varsity basketball, but also participated in two years of track and field and one season of varsity volleyball at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Calif. She averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds, which helped her win team and league most valuable player honors.

Carothers told USFDons.com that her goal for the season was “to become a better player by helping those around me, doing whatever is asked and needed of me and playing my role.”

In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, attempting to sing, doodling and eating.

Volleyball: Dons Rebound From Heartbreaking Loss to Gonzaga, Sweep Winless Pilots

University of San Francisco came out with guns blazing from the start last Saturday, Oct. 5 and earned a victory in a three-set sweep (25-19, 25-19, 25-19) against the Portland Pilots. The Dons, now 7-8 overall and 3-2 in the West Coast Conference (WCC), had a strong overall team performance.

In her first start of the season due to injury, senior outside hitter Malina Terrell led the Dons’ offense with 14 kills and a .560 hitting percentage. Freshman opposite hitter Katarina Pilepic contributed 10 kills while junior middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik tagged on 10 points for USF. As a team, the Dons finished the match with a season-high .363 attack percentage against the still winless Pilots (0-15, 0-6 WCC).

Not only was their offense on point, but USF’s defense also played a significant role in the win. Portland senior Autumn Wedan entered the match ranked 10th in the nation and leading the WCC with an average of 4.61 kills per set, but only managed to hit .091 against the Dons defense. With senior libero Rebecca Kopilovitch’s match-high 16 digs and four blocks by redshirt freshman middle blocker Inbar Vinarsky, USF handed the Pilots their 15th loss of the season.

“The girls played with energy; they didn’t wait and they went at it from the start, and they finished. We needed to win today and that’s the most important thing,” Head Coach Gilad Doron told USFdons.com. “Hopefully, we gained some confidence and we can go up and see what we can do against the best.”

On the previous Thursday, Oct. 3 the Dons suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss against the resilient Gonzaga Bulldogs in their WCC home opener. USF looked dominant in the first two sets when they beat the Bulldogs 25-15 and 25-20. However, even with Zaloznik leading the team on offense and defense, her 16 kills on .467 hitting, eight digs and five blocks were not enough to give the Dons the win. The Bulldogs came back strong in the third set and continued to rally from behind, eventually taking the last three sets to emerge victorious.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Gonzaga who came in and worked very hard together,” Assistant Head Coach Ken Ko told USFdons.com. “Usually that is exactly what we rely on – togetherness, resilience and fighting for every point no matter how difficult the situation is. Tonight we got a taste of our own medicine against us.”

“It wasn’t our best match today, that’s for sure, but we were still up after two,” Doron said. “We let them make a run in the third game and it was just enough to give them hope. Even though we tied it at 23, from that point it seemed to be all Gonzaga needed.”

The Dons are now back on the road for their next two games, facing No. 16 San Diego tonight at Jenny Craig Pavillion and then heading to Provo, Utah to face Brigham Young, who is currently undefeated in conference play, on Oct. 12.

Volleyball: Waves Crushed by Pipelic and Zaloznik’s Combined 35 Kills; Dons Victorious at Peppedine For Second Time Ever

USF opened West Coast Conference play on the road this season with games against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine last week. On Thursday, Sept. 19 the Dons fell to the LMU Lions in straight sets in Los Angeles, Calif. before heading to Malibu, Calif to play the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday.

The matchup against Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse proved to be a close one, with the Dons eventually taking it 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 15-6) and earning their first WCC win of the season.

The Waves, a consistently strong contender for the WCC title, couldn’t compete with the Dons offense, led by junior middle blocker Valentina Zaloznik and freshman outside hitter Katarina Pilepic. The strong duo combined for 35 kills while senior setter Mackenzie Murtagh and freshman setter Kiara McKibben contributed with 26 and 17 assists respectively.

The two teams traded wins throughout the first four sets with Pepperdine taking the first win. However, the Dons managed to start the fifth set strong and bested the Waves 15-6 to emerge victorious.

“This is a great team win for us on the road at a place we only won once before in school history,” head coach Gilad Doran told USFDons.com. “Val [Zaloznik] led our team from the very start till the last point, but we had so many players stepping up in different times and making great contributions today.”

On Thursday, the Dons travelled to the Gersten Pavillion in to play their first WCC game against LMU. USF came up short and lost in straight sets, though they managed to keep the score close throughout most of the game, falling 25-22, 25-26 and 25-22. Pilepic led the team with 12 kills while Zaloznik added eight. The Lions took the victory thanks to their strong offense; they outhit the Dons by 14 percent with 50 kills.

USF finished the road trip with a 1-1 WCC record and are now 5-7 on the season. The Dons continue conference play against Santa Clara on Sept. 26 at Santa Clara, Calif. before hosting Gonzaga and Portland at home on Oct. 3 and Oct. 5.