University of San Francisco Athletics

Complete release (PDF)

USF at Santa Clara
Match 13
Thursday, Sept. 21 @ 6 p.m.
Live stats | Video

6-5, 1-1 West Coast Conference
All-Time vs. Broncos: 10-59
Last meeting: Nov. 8, 2012; L 2-3 (21-25, 27-25, 15-25, 25-17, 12-15)

#WeAreSF
University of San Francisco women's volleyball heads to long-time Bay Area foe Santa Clara for a Thursday night tussle with the Broncos. The sole game of the week for both the Dons and Broncos, USF looks to snap a three-match losing streak to the Broncos after battling Santa Clara in a pair of five-set defeats during the 2012 season.

Both schools enter with 1-1 West Coast Conference records, after posting victories at Pepperdine in the opening week of conference action. The Broncos are led by All-WCC preseason selection in senior Megan Anders, who is hitting .332 and averaging nearly a block per game.

Potent Quotables
"Every time you play against a Bay Area team it is going to be intense and the teams like to go after one another. Santa Clara is a quality team that is playing very well to start the season. Megan Anders is having a great year for SCU and she is a big piece of what they try to run ofensively, but they have other great players who are also playing at a very high level right now." - Gilad Doron on the Broncos

"This continues to show that we are playing with heart and commitment to improving every day in the gym. I am excited for our players and as the only who who has ever won at Pepperdine, it makes me feel humble and fortunate to have the coaching staff and players that believe in our continued road to 'Aim Higher' each time we play." - Doron on the notable win at Pepperdine

Weekend Remix
USF went 1-1 on the opening weekend of WCC play, first falling to Loyola Marymount before responding with a 3-2 victory at Pepperdine. The Dons's first WCC win of the 2013 season was just USF's second defeat of the Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse in program history. The Dons and Waves alternated set victories before USF dominated the fourth and fifth to earn the win. USF finished the day with a .420 attack percentage while holding Pepperdine to .000 in the final two sets of the match. USF's only other win at Pepperdine in 29 meetings was a 3-2 victory Oct. 22, 2009.

The Dons were led by Valentina Zaloznik's 22 kills and six blocks in the match. Mackenzie Murtagh's 26 assists and 19 digs by Rebecca Kopilovitch rounded out USF's top performers.

Records Watch
Three USF players are inching their way up the Dons all-time leaders lists:

USF Career Digs Leaders 3. Melanie Kaiser (1988-91) - 1,246 4. Brittanie Budinger (2000-03) - 1,191 5. Rebecca Kopilovitch (2010-) - 1,138

USF Career Kills Leaders 15. Alix Gombos (2005-08) - 824 16. KeLicia Shorts (2002-05) -  811 17. Malina Terrell (2010-) - 745 18.Megan Morse (1991-94) - 741 19. Jamie Schopflin (1996-98) - 706 20. Deanne Anastas (1987-90) - 696 21. Kelly Harris (1994-95) - 690 22. Valentina Zaloznik (2011-) - 688

All-Tournament Accolades
Senior Malina Terrell was honored at the Blue Raider Bash, that featured Notre Dame, North Carolina and Middle Tennessee State in the season-opening weekend. Two Dons were tapped for the all-tournament team at San Diego State's Aztec Invitational, with Valentina Zaloznik earning a nod alongside freshman Katarina Pilepic. The Dons went 3-1 on the weekend, picking up wins against SMU, Northeastern and Harvard.

Schedule Tested – Conference Prepared
All told, the Dons will compete against a stacked schedule featuring 10 NCAA tournament teams from a year ago, comprising more than half of USF's 19 opponents for the 2013 season. USF will play 16 of its 28 matches against teams that made the NCAA field of 64 in 2012. Included in the mix are postseason perennials North Carolina and Long Beach State, new ACC member Notre Dame and Mountain West co-champion San Diego State, along with the always stout West Coast Conference slate.

Home is Where the Heart Is
... and for the USF volleyball team, their heart is in the City by the Bay. All told, the Dons have traveled more the 53,220 miles from Hometown to the Hilltop and represent six countries, and three states.

Get Connected
Fans can keep up on the latest in USF Athletics in a variety of ways.
Follow USF Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ DonsAthletics
Follow USF volleyball on Facebook at www.facebook.com/University.of.SanFrancisco.Volleyball
Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/usfdonsathletics