THE RUNDOWN
SAN FRANCISCO – The University of San Francisco beach volleyball team is back in action, set to take on Saint Mary's in their first regular-season contest this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Moraga, Calif.
 
After two tournaments this year, the Bay Area Kickoff at Stanford and WCC/Big West Challenge in Santa Cruz, Calif., the Dons are 2-5. USF picked up a win in each tournament, finding success against Santa Clara (3-2) and Sacramento State (4-1). 

The contest against the Gaels will mark the second meeting of the two Bay Area teams this year. In the first meet up, SMC swept the Dons. 

Follow along the Dons volleyball Twitter page for updates on match results. 
 
THOUGHTS FROM FRANCISCO
"We look forward to the challenge of playing a very competitive squad in Saint Mary's College. They present athletic and experienced duos at all of their pairings. Having played them at the Stanford Invitational, we're eager to see our progress in the last two weeks. 

The tournaments at Stanford and Santa Cruz have seasoned us for our upcoming duals. Julia Topor and Anna Dalla Vecchia have emerged as the 1s pairs. Their overall point differential indicates the strongest two-week performance and they have overtaken a solid pair now at 2s, Haley Howell and Carly Lowry. Howell and Lowry have the distinction of winning both clinching matches in the Dons' match wins. Nora Buvarp-Lavik and Camille Araujo give us a dynamic 3s, having a win over the Stanford 3s. An injury to Laura Leap has disrupted the 4s and 5s pairings. The Dons look to retool these duos to maximize their lineup.

Overall, we are very excited with our progress and look to aim higher in the coming weeks."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
After the dual with Saint Mary's, the Dons will San Jose State on March 23 in San Jose, Calif. First serve is set for 4 p.m.