QUEENS, N.Y. – The San Francisco volleyball team continues to race through the non-conference slate unscathed, extending its winning streak to 10 matches. The Dons notched victories over Central Connecticut and St. John's to earn its third tournament crown of the season Saturday at Carnesecca Arena.
The Dons stand as the first West Coast Conference program to record 10 wins on the season, and the start for the squad is the second-best in program history. With a pair of sweeps on the day, USF has now notched six straight-set victories on the year.
"The team played awesome," said head coach
Gilad Doron. "We came together in the last match and it was fun to watch a great team effort. All weekend we passed and served really well, spread the ball nicely, everybody contributed, and I'm very proud how we finished a long weekend. We were in better shape, and the more determined team and that was great to see."
Sophomore libero
Kim Gutierrez was named tournament Most Valuable Player after an impressive weekend anchoring the Dons' defense. She provided 54 digs, or 4.15 per set, for the Dons.
"Kimberly played with great energy and court presence," explained Doron. "She is playing at a really high level – reading the court, communicating with her teammates, and she served and set well.  She was making tough plays look easy, and she was on her game."
Katarina Pilepic earned her third all-tournament nod after finishing with a team-high 43 kills. Sophomore
Oluoma Okaro also earned a place on the all-tournament squad. The sophomore from Lakewood, Calif., compiled 35 kills on .441 hitting and paced the Dons with 21 total blocks, including five solo stuffs.
In the tournament finale, the Dons downed host St. John's, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18. USF jumped out to a 9-2 lead after five straight kills by the tandem of Pilepic and Okaro. The Red Storm rallied to pull within one after a kill from Julia Cast put the score at 16-15 in favor of the Dons. USF would then stretch the lead back to 18-15 after Okaro and
Courtney Sabahi teamed up for the block, and the Dons closed the set with another denial at the net from the pair of
Madison Murtagh and Pilepic.
The Dons again got started early in the second frame, after Pilepic's kill off the assist from
Kiara McKibben put the score at 4-1. USF extended the lead to six points after Sabahi started and ended a string of four unanswered points to make it 11-5. USF continued to cruise as McKibben recorded the service ace to widen the gap to double digits as the Dons went on to pick up the 25-17 victory.
St. John's started on the offensive coming out of halftime, but USF quickly regained the advantage with
Jessica Gaffney at the serve as the Dons scored eight in a row and never looked back. Murtagh's hard hit ball off the set from Vlasic capped the match and gave USF its third tournament title in as many weekends.
In the first match of the day, the Dons took on Central Connecticut in short order. The Dons trailed but once in the match, when the first set was 2-1 in favor of the Blue Devils. The Dons held CCSU to lowest hitting percentage of the season, and the Blue Devils could only muster six points in the final frame after the dons strung together 11 unanswered points with Murtagh at the serve to build the 14-1 lead.
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"We played well in the morning against Central Connecticut and took care of the ball which allowed us to run a very efficient offense," noted Doron. "Oly was on fire, and it was good to see Kim playing well defensively as well, which allowed us to get many opportunities in transition."
All told on the weekend, the Dons outhit their opponents .335 to .130, and outscored them 263.0 to 168.0. Again stout at the net, USF finished with the 43 to 27 blocking advantage. Along with the Dons' three all-tournament performers, Murtagh compiled a team-leading 59 points with 42 kills on an eye-popping .530 hitting percentage, 15 blocks and eight service aces. Sabahi (26 kills, .449 hitting), Gaffney (21 kills, 28 digs, seven blocks) and
Emily Reed (17 kills, 12 blocks) also helped power the squad to victory.
Despite the hot start, Doron and the Dons are keeping the winning streak in perspective.
"Being 10-0 doesn't do anything for us yet," said Doron. "We obviously have to approach each match with its own opportunities and continue to grow and take one opponent at a time. So far it's worked well for us, and we're not going to change it. It takes a total team effort and we're not looking at the record. The key is to stay hungry and humble every time we step on the court."
Now the Dons return home for their final weekend of non-conference play. USF hosts the San Francisco Challenge at War Memorial Gym, and will face off against Yale, Cal State Fullerton and North Dakota State on Sept. 18-19.
Purchase tickets to cheer on the undefeated squad now.
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