SAN DIEGO – No. 14 San Diego begins its 2018 season with back-to-back matches at No. 17 Washington this weekend.
 
The Toreros open the season on Friday at 7 p.m. (PT) and will play the Huskies a second time 24 hours later on Saturday at 7 p.m. A free live stream will be available and live statistics will be available via USDToreros.com.
 
USD went 25-5 in 2017 and earned a share of the WCC title – their 10th in program history. The Toreros advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round and finished the season ranked No. 13 overall.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
• USD debuted at No. 14 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Toreros have been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 32 consecutive weeks.
 
DUO EARN PRESEASON HONORS
•  Kaity Edwards and Addie Picha were named to the 2018 All-WCC Preseason Team. It is the second consecutive season Edwards has received preseason accolades after earning recognition in 2017. It is the first honor for Picha.
 
• Edwards started all 30 matches last season and racked up a career-high 273 kills, averaging 2.68 kills per set, and compiled a .382 attacking percentage.
 
•  Picha earned AVCA All-America honorable mention honors in 2017, accumulating 227 kills and 2.36 kills per set. She was a force defensively, leading the Toreros with 127 blocks.
 
FAMILIAR FACE AT WASHINGTON
•  The Toreros will see a familiar face in Seattle in, Kristen Gengenbacher, who graduated from USD last spring and is getting her graduate degree at Washington and playing for the university's beach volleyball team. Gengenbacher led the Toreros in assists and assists per set last season and was named an AVCA third-team All-American.
 
WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
• USD was picked to finish second overall in a poll of WCC coaches with 73 points and one first-place vote, while BYU led the way with 81 points and nine first-place votes. Loyola Marymount was picked to finish third with 61 points, followed by Pepperdine (59), Gonzaga (46), Santa Clara (42), Saint Mary's (35), Portland (26), Pacific (16) and San Francisco (11).
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST WASHINGTON
• The Toreros are 0-1 all-time against Washington. The lone meeting between the two programs came on Sept. 19, 2008. The Huskies claimed a 3-0 victory in Seattle.
 
PICHA NAMED TO U.S. COLLEGIATE TEAM
• Addie Picha was one of 24 players selected to the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team-Detroit roster in April of 2018. The CNT-Detroit roster is comprised of current collegiate players who trained and competed in Detroit from June 22-July 1. The team is part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and is considered a tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team.
 
WIBLIN RETURNS FOR SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN
• Roxie Wiblin burst onto the scene in her freshman season and earned WCC Freshman of the Year honors. She played in all 30 matches and racked up 254 kills and 2.49 kills per set.
 
TOREROS RELOAD
•  San Diego's overall incoming class for the 2018 season was ranked among the top 10 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.
 
• The Toreros had three incoming freshmen – Katie Lukes, Laura Madill and Lauren Turner – sign a National Letter of Intent in the fall and strengthened its class with three spring additions, including Elise Austin, Kelli Barry and Annie Benbow. The Toreros bolstered their 2018 roster with Penn State sophomore transfer Cami May.
 
2017 ALL-AMERICANS
• Addie Picha is the lone returner of three USD players to earn AVCA All-America recognition last season. Picha and Jayden Kennedy were named honorable mentions, while Kristen Gengenbacher was named to the third team.
 
CHALLENGING SLATE AHEAD IN 2018
• USD consistently schedules top opponents and the trend continues in 2018. The Toreros will play seven matches against five teams selected to the preseason top-25. USD opens the season with back-to-back matches at No. 17 Washington (Aug. 24-25) and makes its home debut against No. 16 Baylor (Sept. 1).
 
• The Toreros play host to Pac-12 opponents No. 11 UCLA (Sept. 2) and No. 10 USC (Sept. 14). USD will take on 2017 WCC co-champion No. 8 BYU at home on Oct. 5 and in Provo on Nov. 2.
 
LEADING THE WAY
• Jen Petrie returns for her 20th year with the program and enters the season with a record of 371-132 (.738). She won her fifth WCC Coach of the Year award in 2017 and led the Toreros to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in her career. USD made its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
• Brent Hilliard enters his 18th season with the Toreros. He was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame on May 6, 2018.
 
• Jimmy Lundgren begins his first season with USD, taking over for Marie Zidek who took a head coaching position with DePaul after the 2017 season. Lundgren joins the Toreros from Point Loma Nazarene where he coached for four seasons.
 
SNYDER INDUCTED INTO USD HALL OF FAME
• Former women's volleyball head coach, Sue Snyder, was inducted into the Chet and Marguerite Pagni Family Athletic Hall of Fame on April 28, 2018. She became the 33rd member of this distinguished class and the seventh former Torero head coach.
 
• Snyder was head coach for the women's volleyball team for nine seasons from 1990-98. During her career she directed the Toreros to the NCAA Tournament four times and to the semifinals of the NIVC Post-Season Tournament twice. The three-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year led San Diego to two WCC Championships and the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice (1998, 1997).
 
• Prior to Snyder's arrival at Alcala Park, USD Volleyball had won just 10 conference matches in the five previous seasons combined.