Oct. 23, 2008

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Behind a 20-kill performance form junior outside hitter Amy Mahinalani DeGroot, the 17th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team upset No. 15 Pepperdine University in a West Coast Conference match at the Jenny Craig Pavilion Thursday evening.

With the 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 15-12) win, the Toreros improve to 15-3 overall, move to 5-1 in the WCC and have won three consecutive matches. With the loss, the Waves fall to 16-2 overall and 4-2 in the WCC.

DeGroot led all players with her 20 kills. The second USD player in double digit kills was sophomore right side Ali Troost, who had 14 kills on 34 attempts, while committing five errors to post a .265 attack percentage and Ashton Basch was the third Torero in double-digit kills as she recorded 11. Jessica Nyrop had a match-best 50 assists and had 10 digs to post a double-double. Andrea Csaszi recorded a career-high 35 digs, which ties her for second at USD in single-match digs.

In the first set, the Waves jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, and would go on to build their lead up to as many as four at 10-6. Then a pair of Pepperdine attack errors book ended a 6-4 San Diego run to pull the Toreros back to within two at 14-12. The Waves refused to let the Toreros get any closer than two for the remainder for the set and went on to claim a 25-20 win and grab a 1-0 lead.

San Diego then bounced back in set two by evening things at 1-1 with a 25-20 win of their own. Pepperdine again jumped out to an early lead at 5-1, but a DeGroot kill off a set from Nyrop ignited a 4-0 run that was capped on a Colleen Carlson kill to even things up at 5-5. The two teams then battled back and forth a bit with both teams taking their turn with the lead. Then with the score knotted up at 18, a DeGroot kill off a set from Nyrop sparked a 7-2 run to close things out.

In the third set, the Toreros and Waves were engaged in a close nit battle right from the get-go. There were a total of 10 lead changes in the set and 15 ties. Neither team had a lead bigger than one throughout the the half of the set. Then with the score knotted at 15, back-to-back Pepperdine kills gave the Waves a two-point advantage at 17-15. However the Toreros would not allow the Waves to get much further ahead, keeping to within two until a Pepperdine attack error tied things up for the final time at 21-21. A Torey Ellick kill then sparked a 4-1 San Diego run to close things out and give USD a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, the Waves came back and forced a game five with a 25-19 win. Pepperdine jumped out to an early 11-6 lead. But the Toreros then went on a 9-5 run that was sparked on a DeGroot kill and capped on a Pepperdine attack error to pull San Diego to within one at 16-15, but the Toreros could get no closer as Pepperdine closed out set four with a 9-4 run.

In the fifth and final set, the two teams sea sawed back and forth right out of the gates, with neither team allowing the other to get more that one point ahead. Finally with the score knotted at 11, a Ashton Basch kill off a set from Nyrop, sparked a 4-2 run that was capped on a Troost solo block to close out the match and give USD a thrilling 3-2 win.

San Diego will return to action on Friday as they host Loyola Marymount in a 1 p.m. WCC match at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.