THIS WEEK
Match #11 San Francisco vs. UC Irvine
Friday, Sept. 16, 4:00 p.m. | Icardo Center
Live Stats
Match #12 San Francisco vs. UC Riverside
Saturday, Sept. 17, 12:30 p.m. | Icardo Center
Live Stats
Match #13 San Francisco vs. Northern Arizona
Saturday, Sept. 17, 4:00 p.m. | Icardo Center
Live Stats
Challenge Recap
The Dons hosted their second tournament in as many weeks with the San Francisco Challenge. USF fell to the Red Storm of St. John's in three sets before handling Brown in an exciting four games (30-28, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19). Against the Bears, USF had an outstanding offensive performance from its outside hitters- senior Emily Reed and freshman Tyna Adamcikova. Reed almost matched her career-high of 18 kills, as the senior tallied 17 kills and eight digs for the match. Adamcikova continued to impress, as the 6-0 hitter hit a career-high 27 kills (.415) and totaled 15 digs for her first double-double. The performance by Adamcikova is the first time since 2012 where a USF player hit more than 20 kills in a four-set match (Ester de Vries; 26 kills vs. UC Davis).
Both Reed and Adamcikova were among the offensive leaders during the two-day event. Adamcikova led the tournament with 46 kills (4.6 kills/set) while Reed hit a total of 35 kills (3.5 kills/set).
Several other Dons placed among the tournament leaders in different categories. Montana Green had the third most assists with 44 (4.4 assists/set), and junior libero Kim Gutierrez totaled 30 digs for the third most in the tournament. The starting pair of middle blockers, Marjolijn Oskam and Kate Ashman had solid performances last weekend. Both totaled 10 total blocks to finish in a tie for second in blocks.
Roadrunner Classic
This week, USF will move along in the team bus to Bakersfield, Calif. for the Roadrunner Classic. Along with USF, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Northern Arizona completes the field of teams for the two-day invitational. The Anteaters are off to a 3-7 start to the new season, with wins against USC, Northeastern and San Diego State. Riverside (4-5) beat Southern Utah twice, and captured a 3-1 win over Middle Tennessee State at the Saint Mary's Invitational. Northern Arizona is off to a hot, 7-2 start. The Lumberjacks only losses came against Temple and Central Florida.
The Numbers
As a team, USF currently averages 11.2 kills and an impressive 2.3 blocks per set. Adamcikova is continuing to showcase her skills as she leads the Dons with 128 (3.56 kills/set). Reed is building her career-year with 115 kills thus far.
Freshman setter Trish Koutsoukos continues to provide assists for USF, as the 5-7 player has 165 assists through the 36 sets. In the starting lineup for the first time, Montana Green held her own and continues to provide another set of quality hands for USF. Green has 129 assists and 15 kills on the season.
Defensively, the Green and Gold are holding their opponents to a mere .227 hitting percentage. In the middle of the floor ready to slide and explode for blocks, Oskam and Ashman are competing hard with a combined total of 65 blocks. Ashman leads the young team with 33, while Oskam is right behind with 32 blocks. Gutierrez is building her impressive career as a Don. The 5-5 libero leads USF with 121 digs (3.56 digs/set), while also proving her excellence at the service line with 13 aces.
Last Tournament Before Conference Action
After the team's road trip to the Roadrunner Classic, USF will begin West Coast Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 22 at San Diego. The Dons will then take on BYU (Sept. 24) in Provo, Utah before heading back home to host Saint Mary's (Sept. 27) in a 7 p.m. match at the Hilltop.
