USF Faces Final Road Test of Season

Thursday, November 20

Santa Clara, Calif.

6 p.m.

University of San Francisco

Santa Clara

Photo by: Stephanie Trapp

11/20/2014 10:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

San Francisco Volleyball (12-16, 5-11 WCC)
vs. Santa Clara (20-9, 10-6 WCC)
Thursday, Nov. 20 | 6 p.m. | Leavey Center
Live stream: santaclarabroncos.com | Stats: usfstats.com

#WeAreSF

San Francisco volleyball hits the road for its final match away from the Hilltop in 2014. The Dons are looking for their second-straight season sweep over long-standing rival Santa Clara, and just their second win in a road match away from the Hilltop this season.

What 2 Watch 4

San Francisco's Valentina Zaloznik continues to be a dominant force for the Dons in her senior season, compiling a team-high 330 kills on .319 hitting and 123 blocks. Currently, her total blocks figure stands at 61st in NCAA Division I volleyball.

Additionally, Katarina Pilepic has added 324 kills for USF to go with 64 total blocks. Kiara McKibben took over primary setting duties in 2014 and has assisted on 982 scoring plays for the Dons, and she is helped by Jurja Vlasic, recently back from injury that sidelined the junior for nearly a month.

Freshman Kim Gutierrez is leading the defensive charge, amassing 474 digs. Nationally, Gutierrez' tally is ranked 90th in the country. As a team, USF's 1,668 total digs leads the WCC.

Know the Foe

Santa Clara stands at 20-9 on the year, and is looking to halt a two-match losing streak. The Broncos are paced by powerful offense, effective setting, and a superior serve. Nikki Hess leads Santa Clara's offensive stats with 370 kills, and Sabrina Clayton is right behind at 346. Kirsten Mead, the conference leader and ranked second in the nation, stands at 1,141 assists, or 11.8 per set. As a team, the Broncos rank 18 nationally in assists per set. Stout on the serve, Santa Clara rates third in the NCAA in aces per set (1.81) and a trio (Clayton, Rottman, Mead) are in the top 100 national rankings.

Last time the Dons and Broncos tussled, USF handed Santa Clara a 3-0 defeat in their WCC-opening match. The Dons were paced by 13 kills on .400 hitting from Katarina Pilepic, and Valentina Zaloznik added nine kills on .600 hitting for USF. Kiara McKibben dished out 23 assists and a trio of Dons finished with at least 10 digs in the match.

USF Versus

All-time vs. Broncos: 13-59 • 3-31 at Santa Clara
Current streak: W3
Last meeting: 09/26/14 (H) • W, 3-0
25-22, 25-15, 25-19

Records Watch

Senior Valentina Zaloznik is racing up the record books in myriad categories:
2.          Total Blocks - 423
T-6        Aces - 107
7.          Solo Blocks - 78
7.          Kills – 1,173

Single-season record books
7.          Kim Gutierrez - 474 digs
9.          Valentina Zaloznik - .319 pct.

*Zaloznik currently owns the sixth- and eighth-best season attack percentages (.341 - '13; .326 - '12)

Single-match records
After compiling 13 kills on 14 attempts with no errors, or .929, in USF's sweep of Fordham on Aug. 30, Zaloznik now owns the single-match record for hitting percentage.

Last Time Out

The Dons dropped its fifth straight Saturday, falling 3-1 at the hands of Loyola Marymount at War Memorial Gym. USF was paced by 13 kills from Valentina Zaloznik, 35 total assists between the pair of Kiara McKibben and Jurja Vlasic and 21 digs from freshman libero Kim Gutierrez.

A Look Ahead

The Dons cap the 2014 campaign Tuesday against Pacific on Senior Day. Bid farewell to the Dons' two seniors, Anja Segota and Valentina Zaloznik. The match is part of the double-header on the Hilltop as USF women's basketball takes on Nevada at 7:30 p.m. The last opportunity to exchange non-perishable food for ticket discounts, bring an item to donate to the SF-Marin Food Bank in exchange for a $5 ticket, good for both contests.

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