SEATTLE – No. 14 San Diego started strong but could not slow down No. 17 Washington late as the Toreros fell to the Huskies in the season opener Friday night, 3-1.
 
The Toreros (0-1) jumped out to a 1-0 advantage after taking the first set, 25-21. However, the Huskies (1-0) found their rhythm and won the next three sets (28-26, 25-21, 25-22) to secure the victory.
 
Roxie Wiblin and Lauren Fuller paced the Toreros with 14 kills apiece. Addie Picha pitched in 10 kills to go along with a team-high six blocks. Kaity Edwards hit .429 on the night and finished with eight kills.
 
Four players made their Torero debuts, including Cami May, Katie Lukes, Kelli Barry and Laura Madill. May racked up eight kills and five blocks.
 
Madill and Anna Newsome each contributed 24 assists and seven digs apiece.
 
The Toreros jumped out to an early lead in the first set, holding a 12-6 advantage. However, Washington found its footing and went on a 10-3 run to take the lead 16-15. The teams traded points before the Toreros went on a 6-2 run to secure the first-set victory, 25-21.
 
USD jumped out to another early lead in the second set, holding leads of 3-0, 13-9 and 18-14. This time it was the Huskies who rallied late in the set, scoring five of the final six points to level the match at, 1-1.
 
Washington took an early lead in the third set and never trailed to take its first lead in the match, 2-1.
 
The teams traded points to start the fourth set until the Huskies reeled off six straight points to take a 15-9 lead. The Toreros continued to battle and eventually leveled the score at, 22-22.
 
USD was unable to keep the momentum going, however, and Washington won the next three points to win the set, 25-22, and secure the 3-1 decision.
 
The Toreros will have to wait less than 24 hours to get another shot at the Huskies as the teams meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed via Pac-12.com and live statistics will be available.