Oct. 2, 2008

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Amy Mahinalani DeGroot's double-double helped pace the 16th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14) win over Gonzaga University in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams Thursday evening at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

With the win, the Toreros improve to 10-2 overall and move to 1-0 in the WCC. With the loss, the Zags fall to 6-10 overall and fall to 0-1 in the WCC.

DeGroot recorded 10 kills on 25 attempts while only committing three attack errors to post a .280 attack percentage. DeGroot also recorded 10 digs to post a double-double. The second Torero in double digit kills was Ali Troost, who had 11 kills on 24 attempts to post a .333 attack percentage. Andrea Csaszi led all players with her 11 digs and Jessica Nyrop had a match-best 37 assists while directing the USD offense to a .252 attack percentage.

In the first set, a USD service error sparked a 3-1 Gonzaga run to give the Zags the early momentum. GU would go on to build their lead up to as many as four at 7-3, but an Ashton Basch kill sparked a 7-0 San Diego run that was capped on a Gonzaga ball handling error to give USD their first lead of the set at 10-9. The two teams then sea sawed back and forth a bit with each team taking their turn with the lead. Then with the Toreros leading 21-20, a GU service error sparked a 3-2 USD run to close out the first set and give the Toreros the 25-22 win.

In the second set, a service error by Gonzaga followed by a Basch and DeGroot block sparked the Torero offense to a quick 5-1 lead. But the Bulldogs came battling back and used a 6-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. San Diego would then tie things up on three separate occasions, and finally regained the lead at 15-14 on a GU attack error. The Toreros would then use a 9-2 run sparked on a Zags ball handling error and capped on a Jaimarie Sutherland kill to take complete control of the set and go up two sets to none into the break.

In the third and final set, San Diego claimed the first point on a GU service error, to ignite a 5-1 run that was capped on a Nyrop kill to give the Toreros all the early momentum. The Toreros never looked back as they went on to complete the sweep with a 25-14 win.

The Toreros will return to action on Saturday as they host the University of Portland in a 12 p.m. WCC match at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.