Sept. 12, 2009
Box Score - Match 1 Box Score - Match 2
DENVER, Colo. - The 24th-ranked USD Volleyball team recorded a pair of 3-1 victories over both the Cal Poly Mustangs and Denver Pioneers on Saturday at the Colorado Invitational. The Toreros were the only tournament participant to win all of their matches, going a perfect 3-0.
The Toreros completed a 25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21 win over the Mustangs on Saturday morning, while capping off the day with a 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24 triumph over the Pioneers in the evening. San Diego improved their record to 4-3 on the season.
In the first match against Cal Poly, Ashton Basch led the team with 16 kills. Torey Ellick and Ali Troost both had 13 kills against the Mustangs. Ellick had a block solo and four block assists, while Kayleen Webster had 18 digs. Kelsi Myers had a team high 54 assists.
In the first set, San Diego and Cal Poly tied early at 3-3. USD began to pull away stepping up their offense and holding the lead for the remainder of the match recording a 25-20 win.
In the second set, the Mustangs offense managed to tie things up midway through. At 14-14, San Diego Ali Troost had three consecutive kills to take a 17-14 lead. The Toreros pulled away taking the set 25-19 win.
In the third set, San Diego fell behind early 5-9 to Cal Poly. Battling back form the deficit, USD pulled to within three points at 20-23 but were unable to take the lead as they fell 20-25 in the third set.
USD came back to win the fourth set after falling behind early on 9-12. The Toreros fought to regain tie the match at 17-17 and extended their lead pulling away from the Mustangs to win 25-21.
In the second match against Denver, Ellick tallied a team-leading 18 kills, establishing a .500 hitting percentage. Three other Toreros, Troost, Basch, and Colleen Carlson, registered double-digit kills against the Pioneers. Webster led the team with 20 digs.
After collecting the first two sets in a convincing fashion over the Pioneers, San Diego was challenged by Denver in the third set. The Toreros held the lead for the majority of the third set before relinquishing a 23-22 advantage and falling 25-23. In the fourth set, the Toreros finished off the Pioneers by scoring four of the match's final five points, completing a 26-24 win.
The Toreros were also represented on the All-Tournament team by Torey Ellick and Kelsi Myers. Ali Troost was named the tournament's MVP, while Kayleen Webster was honored as the tournament's Best Librero.
San Diego will return home for a match on Tuesday against Seattle University within the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The match is slated for a 7:00 p.m. PDT start.
