Dec. 5, 2008
Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The 15th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team saw their season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to No. 12 USC Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Galen Center.
With the loss, the Toreros finish the season with a 23-5 overall record. With the win, the Trojans improve to 17-11.
Four different Toreros recorded double-digit kills paced by Ali Troost's team-best 13. Both Amy Mahinalani DeGroot and Torey Ellick had 11 kills apiece and Ashton Basch added in 10 kills. DeGroot added in 11 digs to record a double-double and Jessica Nyrop recorded a match-best 45 assists to go along with 13 digs for a double-double.
In the first set, A Breanne Ogden service ace gave the Toreros the first point of the match. The Trojans then went on a 7-2 run to gain the early momentum. A Trojan service error sparked a 4-1 San Diego run that was capped on a DeGroot kill to pull San Diego back to within one at 8-7. The Trojans then went on a 5-0 spurt to regain the momentum and force the Toreros into a timeout. Out of the timeout, USC went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. However a USC ball handling error then ignited an 8-2 Torero run that was capped on a USC attack error to pull San Diego back on even playing terms with the Women of Troy at 18-18, forcing USC into a timeout. The Trojans then grabbed the next point, but San Diego went on a 3-0 run that was sparked on a DeGroot kill off a set from Nyrop and capped on a Troost kill to give San Diego back the lead at 21-19, again forcing the Trojans into a timeout. San Diego never let their foot off the gas as they closed out the set on a 4-2 run to give San Diego a 25-21 win.
In the second set, USC again jumped out to an early lead, as they opened the frame with a 7-2 run, which forced San Diego into a timeout. USC never let up as they used a 10-4 run to take a double-digit lead at 17-6 to force San Diego into another timeout. The Toreros never recovered, as the Trojans evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-12 win.
In the third set, USC again jumped out to an early lead with a 5-1 run to open the frame. A Troost kill then sparked a 5-0 run to pull the Toreros back to within one at 5-4. The Two teams then sea sawed back and forth over the next several points. USC would go on to take a five-point lead at 18-13 on a USD attack error kill to force the Toreros into a timeout. San Diego could get no closer than four for the remainder of the set, as the Trojans took a two-sets-to-none lead with a 25-19 win.
In the fourth set, The Trojans grabbed the first three points of the set, but a Troost kill then sparked a 7-0 San Diego run that was capped on a Troost service ace to give San Diego a 7-3 lead, forcing the Trojans into a timeout. The Toreros would go on to build their lead up to as many as five at 14-9 on a Basch kill. But the Trojans began to chip away at the lead and pulled back to within one at 15-14. The two teams then traded point for point until back-to-back San Diego kills gave the Toreros a three-point lead at 20-17. USC then scored the next two points to force San Diego into a timeout with a 20-19 lead. The Trojans then regained the lead at 22-21 on a USD attack error to again force San Diego into a timeout. The Trojans then went on a 2-0 run to have set and match point at 24-22, but the Toreros scored the next two points to tie things up. USC then captured the next two points to claim the win and advance on to the second round to face the University of Hawaii on Saturday at 6 p.m.
