Match 14: USF (13-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. No. 10 BYU (10-1, 0-0 WCC)
Thursday, Sept. 24 | 7 p.m.All-time vs. Cougars: 0-9 • 0-4 home
Current streak: L9
Last meeting: 11/1/14 (H) • L, 0-3; 20-25, 24-26, 14-25
Match 15: USF vs. San Diego (6-5, 0-0 WCC)
Saturday, Sept. 26 | 1 p.m.All-time vs. Toreros: 17-46 • 12-20 home
Current streak: W1Â
• Last 5: 1-4 • Last 10: 2-8Â
Last meeting: 10/30/14 (H) • W, 3-0; 25-22, 25-21, 25-21
#15sports1team
The San Francisco volleyball team continues to roll though the season unscathed, sporting a 13-0 record and four tournament titles at the conclusion of non-conference action. The Dons looks to ride the momentum into the first weekend of the West Coast Conference slate against last year's NCAA runner-up, 10th-ranked BYU, and San Diego.
What 2 Watch 4
The Dons are scorching the NCAA leaderboards, finding themselves in the top 20 in four categories as a team. USF is outhitting opponents .311 to .147, ranking first in the West Coast Conference and seventh in the nation in hitting percentage. Stout on the block, USF rates first in the league in blocks (123.0) and blocks per set (2.80), and their total blocks tally is 17th in the NCAA.
Four Dons have accumulated at least 100 points on the season, with
Katarina Pilepic's 172 kills leading the offense. Freshman
Madison Murtagh has been a presence at the net, compiling 57 total blocks to rate 39th nationally, and third in the WCC. She eads the conference in hitting percentage with a mark of .429, which stands at 19th in the NCAA.
Junior
Kiara McKibben paces the team with 325 assists for the Dons, and her career tally of 1,696 assists rates at 10th-best in USF history. Libero
Kim Gutierrez leads the squad with 183 digs, or 4.16 per set.
And Then There Were Seven
The Dons sport the best record in the NCAA, and six other squads also sit with an unblemished record to date - Kansas, Missouri, Southern California, Arizona State, Penn State and Washington.
By the Numbers
Kim Gutierrez … needs 112 digs to move to 15th on the all-time list
Kiara McKibben … needs 670 assists to jump to 10th on the career assists tally, and 304 assists to reach the 2,000 mark
Katarina Pilepic … needs 188 kills to hit 1,000 for her career as a Don
Tackling the Top
The Dons have never tasted victory against a top 10 team, falling in each of its 16 attempts. The last victory over a nationally ranked opponents came against No. 25 Cal in 2012, and the highest ranked foe to ever fall at the hands of USF was No. 15 San Diego in 2008 at War Memorial Gym.
Know the Foes
BYU, picked to earn the West Coast Conference crown, enters the weekend with a 10-1 record, with its only loss coming at the hands of then-No. 22 USC. The Cougars are paced on offense by Alexa Gray's 152 kills, with Camry Willardson assisting on 270 points thus far. Libero Ciara Parker has scooped up 140 balls and current WCC Player of the Week Amy Boswell has recorded 50 total blocks, rating 23rd nationally in blocks per set. USF is seeking its first win over BYU in program history, and first victory over a Top-10 ranked team since
San Diego stands at 6-5 on the year, and the Toreros have dropped four of their last five outings. Senior Lisa Kramer spearheads the offensive charge with 150 kills on .389 hitting, the duo of Caila Stapleton and Kristen Gengenbacher share assisting duties, and Lauren Schad is blocking at a clip of 1.29 denials per set to stand in fourth in the WCC.
Last Time Out
After a sluggish start out of the gates in the championship match at the San Francisco Challenge, the Dons roared back to defeat North Dakota State to remain unbeaten on the year.
Tournament Most Valuable Player
Katarina Pilepic led the offense with 24 kills on .405 hitting while
Madison Murtagh and
Courtney Sabahi each registered 10 kills.
Jurja Vlasic provided a game-high 27 assists and
Kim Gutierrez finished with 25 digs in the match.
Let's Go Streaking
The only other time in school history the Dons have posted a 13-0 start to the season was in 2003, when USF opened up the year 15-0 before going on to notch a 23-8 overall record while earning the program's first NCAA bid.
The last 13-game winning streak came in 2006, when the Dons rolled through the non-conference slate with a 16-1 mark, only falling at No. 18 Arizona. USF finished 23-10 that season, and tied for fourth in the WCC.
Tournament Award Winners
Winning begets awards, and the Dons have been amassing individual accolades throughout the non-conference tournament slate.
Katarina Pilepic has earned two MVP awards to go along with two All-Tournament Team selections,
Madison Murtagh has been tabbed for All-Tournament honors three times (one MVP),
Kim Gutierrez has gotten the nod twice (one MVP), and
Jessica Gaffney,
Oluoma Okaro and
Courtney Sabahi have each earned a spot on the All-Tournament squad once this season.
Preseason Poll
The Dons were selected to finish tied for eighth in the West Coast Conference's annual preseason poll. USF received 22 points in the poll, alongside Saint Mary's and above Portland. After a record-setting march to the 2014 NCAA National Championship match, BYU was picked as the unanimous favorite to win the 2015 crown.
A Look Ahead
After opening with two of the toughest opponents in the league, the Dons travel to Stockton to face nationally-ranked Pacific on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
Get Connected
Fans can follow the Dons in a variety of ways:• Via the departmental Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with the username donsathletics.• Through team-specific Twitter (@USFDonsVB) and Facebook (University.of.San.Francisco.Volleyball)• On YouTube at USFDonsAthletics, where fans can view video segments online• On Comcast SportsNet California in USF Athletics' monthly show, "Behind the Mask"• With previews, recaps, videos, features and more as seen on USFDons.com
