Nov. 20, 2008
Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - With a sweep over Loyola Marymount University (13-14, 3-10 WCC), the 17th-ranked University of San Diego (21-4, 11-2 WCC) women's volleyball team has earned at least a share of the West Coast Conference championship Thursday evening.
Amy Mahinalani DeGroot led the Toreros offense as she recorded 15 kills and the second USD player to record double-digit kills was Torey Ellick, who had 11 kills and hit for a .556 clip. Jessica Nyrop recorded a match-best 39 assists, while directing USD to a .346 attack percentage.
In the first set, the two teams were engaged in a close nit battle right from the get-go as neither team went on a big run, and stayed within two points of each other. Then with the score at 12-11 in favor of the Toreros, a Colleen Carlson kill off a set from Nyrop ignited a 8-3 San Diego run tat was capped on a Ali Troost service ace to give USD a 20-14 lead. USD never looked back as they went on to cruise their way to a 25-19 win.
In the second set, it was again a close battle right out of the gates, as both teams took their turn with the lead and neither team had a lead bigger than three. Then with the score at 20-19 in favor of the Toreros, a DeGroot kill off a set from Nyrop sparked a 5-3 USD run to close out the set and give USD a two games to none lead heading into the break.
In the third and final set, the Lions gave USD a run for their money, as the Toreros completed the sweep with a 26-24 win. Unlike the first two sets, San Diego got the early momentum as they opened the set with a 6-1 run that was sparked on a Ellick kill and capped on a Sarah Schatzman kill. The Lions then began to slowly chip away at the lead and with the score at 16-12 in favor of USD, the Lions used a 9-5 run to even things up at 21-21. Each team then traded point-for-point until the score was knotted at 24-24. Finally back-to-back Ashton Basch kills gave USD the win.
The Toreros will return to action on Saturday as they conclude WCC play with a 1 p.m. match against No. 24 Pepperdine University.
