Aug. 30, 2008
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - A pair of Toreros record double-digit kills to help pace the 22nd-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team (2-0) to a 3-1 (25-16, 26-24, 21-25, 25-20) non-conference win over UC Irvine (1-1) Saturday morning at the San Diego State Invitational.
Amy Mahinalni DeGroot led all players with her 18 kills on 41 attempts while only committing four attack errors to post a .341 attack percentage. Ashton Basch was the second Torero in double-digit kills as she recorded a career-high 15 kills on 26 attempts, while only committing two attack errors to post a .500 attack percentage. Senior setter Jessica Nyrop recorded 44 assists, while directing the Toreros to a .299 team attack percentage. Andrea Csaszi led all players with 21 digs.
In the first set, the Toreros cruised their way to a 25-16 win. The first part of the set was a close nit battle with each team taking their turn with the lead. Then with the score at 5-4 in favor of the Toreros, a DeGroot kill off a set from Jillian Wolpman ignited a 7-3 run that was book-ended on back-to-back Jaimarie Sutherland kills to give USD a 12-5 edge. USD never let up as they would go on to build their lead up to as many as 10 at 21-11 on a Wolpman kill, before settling for the nine-point win.
The second set was a lot closer battle as USD recorded a 26-24 win to take a 2-0 lead going into the break. This set was a sea saw battle. Both teams took their turn with the lead and neither team had a lead bigger than three, then with the Toreros trailing 21-19, a Ellick kill sparked a 4-2 run to give USD set point at 24-23. The Anteaters then evened things up on a Lauren Killerman kill, but a service ace by DeGroot and a UCI attack error gave USD the win.
UC Irvine avoided getting swept by the Toreros by capturing game three 25-21. The Anteaters grabbed the early momentum and built their lead up to as many as six at 21-15. But USD then launched a comeback as they went on a 4-0 run to make things interesting, but could come no closer as the Anteaters came away with the win, forcing game four.
In game four, the two teams were again engaged in a battle as each team took their turn with the lead and neither team having a lead bigger than three. Then with the score knotted at 18-18, a Basch kill off a set from Nyrop sparked an 7-2 Torero rum to close out the match and give the San Diego the win.
The Toreros will return to action later on tonight as they conclude play in the tournament against the host and cross-town rival San Diego State University.
