SAN DIEGO – No. 23 San Diego continues its nine-match homestand this weekend with matches against No. 16 USC, Louisiana and Oregon State in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The Toreros (2-4) open the weekend Friday at 6 p.m. PT against the Trojans (6-3). USD plays a pair of matches Saturday beginning with Louisiana at 9 a.m. and concluding against Oregon State at 3 p.m. 
 
USC and Louisiana will play the opening game of the weekend on Friday at noon. All matches are part of the annual SDSU/USD Challenge.
 
Each match will be live streamed on theW.tv and live statistics will be available via USDToreros.com.
 
TICKETS
- Tickets ($5) will be sold for each match. One ticket is good for one match.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- The Toreros split a pair of matches last weekend against Tennessee. USD won the first match of the weekend, 3-0, but were upset in the second match, 3-1.
 
- Addie Picha played well, racking up 20 kills (2.86 per set), a .562 attack percentage and a team-high 14 blocks (2.0 per set). Roxie Wiblin and Kaity Edwards also registered 20 kills apiece. Kelli Barry contributed 24 digs, while Anna Newsome dished out 44 assists.
 
- The Toreros made quick work of Tennessee in the first match, winning 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-18). Picha nearly had a double-double in the Toreros victory against the Lady Vols with nine kills and 10 blocks. Edwards led USD with 10 kills.
 
- USD ran into trouble in the second match against Tennessee and had trouble breaking through the Lady Vols at the net. Tennessee registered 13 blocks and outhit the Toreros, .283-.222, on the night.
 
- Roxie Wiblin led the Toreros attack with 17 kills. Picha added 11 and Edwards notched 10. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST NO. 16 USC
- San Diego is 1-11 all-time against the Trojans, with its lone victory coming the last time USC made the trip to USD on Sept. 13, 2013, a 3-1 victory. USC has won the past to meetings in 2015 (3-0) and 2017 (3-2) – both at USC.
 
- The matchup against the Trojans will be a repeat of last year's NCAA Tournament second round matchup in Los Angeles. USC edged the Toreros in five sets (25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 25-22, 15-11) and eventually advanced to the regional championship.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LOUISIANA 
- It will be the first meeting in program history against Louisiana.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST OREGON STATE
- The Toreros are 2-1 all-time against Oregon State. USD won the most recent meeting in 2015, 3-1.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
- USD is ranked 23rd in the third week of the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Toreros debuted at No. 14 preseason poll. The Toreros have been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 35 consecutive weeks.
 
TOREROS IN 2017
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.
 
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 in 2017 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.
 
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). 
 
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 opened the season with back-to-back matches at No. 17 Washington (Aug. 24-25) and made its home debut against No. 12 Baylor (Sept. 1).
 
- The Toreros play host to Pac-12 opponents No. 10 UCLA (Sept. 2; L, 3-2), No. 16 USC (Sept. 14) and Oregon State (Sept. 15). USD will take on 2017 WCC co-champion No. 9 BYU at home on Oct. 5 and in Provo on Nov. 2.
 
LEADING THE WAY
- Jen Petrie is in her 20th year with the program and holds a career record of 373-136 (.733). 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.