Nov. 18, 2010
Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - The 14th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team saw its season-high 14-match winning streak come to an end, and its perfect West Coast Conference record also come to an end with a 3-2 loss to Pepperdine University Thursday evening in a WCC match at Firestone Fieldhouse.
With the 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 29-27, 10-15 loss, the Toreros fall to 22-5 overall and fall to 12-1 in the WCC. With the win, the Waves improve to 20-7 overall and 11-2 in the WCC. USD can still claim the WCC Championship outright with a win on Saturday against Loyola Marymount.
Senior right side Ali Troost had a match-best 21 kills and recorded 12 digs to post a double-double, while senior outside hitter Amy Mahinalani DeGroot also had a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. The final USD player to record double-digit kills was Chloe Ferrari, who had 13 kills on 24 swings to post a .375 attack percentage. Kelsi Myers had 53 assists, and C'era Oliveira had a team-best 25 digs.
The Waves stunned the Toreros by grabbing the first set 25-21. A Ferrari kill ignited a 5-1 Torero run to open up the frame and give San Diego the early momentum. The Toreros then used an 8-4 run to gain a seven-point edge at 13-6, but the Waves answered back as they went on a 10-3 run of their own to even things up at 16-16. The two teams then battled back and forth a bit trading point-for-point, then with the score knotted at 21-21, the Waves closed things out on a 4-0 run to take the set.
The Toreros then evened up the match in the second set with a 25-17 win. It was a close battle in the early going as both teams took their turn with the lead and neither team had a lead bigger than two. Then with the Toreros leading 8-6, a Pepperdine service error jump started a 7-3 San Diego run that was capped on a DeGroot kill to give USD some breathing room and a 15-9 lead. The Toreros would eventually build up their lead to as many as seven at 21-14 on a Ashton Basch kill, and San Diego never looked back as they went on to claim the set 21-17.
In the third set, the Waves raced out to a 4-1 lead to grab the early momentum, and Pepperdine maintained that three-point edge for a bit. Then with the score at 10-6, a Pepperdine service error sparked a 6-1 Torero run that was capped on a Ferrari block to give USD its first lead of the frame. USD would eventually take a four-point lead at 17-13, but the Waves came rallying back and would pull even with the Toreros at 21, before closing out the set on a 4-2 run to go up two sets to one, putting the Toreros back against the wall.
In the fourth set, it was a close battle as both teams managed to keep things close. Pepperdine was holding onto a two-point lead for a majority of the set, until San Diego took its first lead at 19-18 on a DeGroot kill. Pepperdine would even the score a few more times and they took match point at 24-23, but a Troost kill evened things right back up. After the Waves would take match-point three more times, USD would take set-point on a Pepperdine attack error before a Troost kill off a set from Myers forced a fifth and final set.
In the fifth set, it was a close battle as each team was trading point-for-point and each team had its turn with the lead and neither team had a lead bigger than two. Then with the score knotted at 10-10, the Waves were able to string together a 5-0 run to claim the upset win.
The Toreros will return to action on Saturday as they close out the regular-season with a 1 p.m. WCC match in Los Angeles, Calif. against Loyola Marymount University.
