Nov. 22, 2008
Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - Amy Mahinalani DeGroot's team-best 16 kills paced the 17th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over No. 24 Pepperdine University, and to a West Coast Conference Championship Saturday afternoon.
With the 25-22, 25-22, 25-17 win, the Toreros improve to 22-4 overall and they finish in sole possession of first place in the WCC with a 12-2 mark, good for their third consecutive WCC championship. With the loss, the Waves fall to 20-6 overall and 8-6 in the WCC.
DeGroot recorded her 16 kills on 38 swings and hit for a .289 clip. The second Torero in double-digit kills was Ashton Basch, who had 12 kills on 22 attempts and hit for a .409 clip. Jessica Nyrop recoded a team-best 31 assists, while directing the San Diego offense to a .280 attack percentage and Andrea Csaszi had a match-best 16 kills.
In the first set, the Waves took advantage of a couple USD miscues and grabbed a 3-1 lead. The Toreros would eventually tie things up at 7-7 on a Basch kill off a set from Nyrop. Then with the score knotted at 8-8, a Basch kill sparked a 6-2 San Diego run that was capped on a Colleen Carlson kill to give USD a 14-10 edge. USD would go on to build their lead up to as many as eight at 20-12 on a Basch kill, but the Waves then launched a come back and went on a 8-2 run to pull back to within two at 22-20. But San Diego regained the momentum and claimed set one 25-22.
In the second set, San Diego jumped out to an early 5-2 lead as a Nyrop kill off a set from Casazi began the run that was capped on a DeGroot kill off a set from Nyrop. Pepperdine would come back and tie things up at 11-11 on a Kim Hill kill, but a Pepperdine attack error then sparked a 4-2 Torero run that was capped on a Carlson kill to give USD a 15-13 lead. USD was able to maintain that three point lead for the remainder of the set and took a two-games-to-none lead heading into the break.
In the third and final set, USD jumped out to a 10-5 lead and never let up. The Toreros led by as many as eight at 21-13, before completing the sweep with a 25-17 win.
The Toreros will conclude their regular season on Tuesday with a 5 p.m. non-conference match against Yale at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
