PROVO, Utah—San Diego defeated No. 9 BYU in a five-set battle (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10) on Friday night to take sole ownership of first place in the WCC.
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The Toreros (15-4, 8-0 WCC) extended a 13-match winning streak, handing the Cougars (16-3, 7-1 WCC) their first conference loss in Smith Fieldhouse since Oct. 27, 2017 (USD, 3-1). The win marked USD's second victory over a ranked opponent this season.
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Anna Newsome spread the ball around effectively for USD, collecting 49 assists, helping four Toreros reach double-digit kills and directing the Toreros to a .288 hitting percentage. Newsome tallied 13 digs to register her sixth double-double of the season, adding five kills and one ace.
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Thana Fayad led all hitters in the match, finishing one kill shy of her career-high with 19 and hitting .204 on the night. The senior outside hitter added seven digs, two aces and three blocks to finish with a match-high 21.5 points.
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Megan Jacobsen hit .385 to collect 13 kills, while
Grace Frohling added 12.
Katie Lukes also reached double-digits with 11 kills, hitting at a .407 clip.
Lauren Turner chipped in nine kills at a blazing .692 hitting percentage with zero errors on 13 swings.
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The Toreros out-blocked the Cougars, 11-8 with Turner leading the defensive effort in the front row. The redshirt freshman collected a match-high eight blocks—a new career best—finishing the night with 13 points. Frohling added six blocks, while Jacobsen and Fayad chipped in three.
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Annie Benbow also registered a new career high, finishing with 22 digs on the night.
Payton Douglass and
Roxie Wiblin both added eight digs, as part of USD's defensive effort that held BYU to a .250 hitting percentage.
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Madelyn Robinson and McKenna Miller led the way for the Cougars offensively, finishing with 18 and 13 kills respectively.
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It was a match of momentum swings that saw the Toreros dominating the first set. With the set tied at 15-all, San Diego put together a five-point run to put itself firmly in front. Fayad collected seven of her 19 kills and the Toreros took the first set 25-18.
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The second set was a different story, with the Cougars pulling away late with a 5-1 run. USD was limited to a .194 hitting percentage and BYU took the set 25-20.
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USD came out red hot to start the third set, taking an early a 12-3 lead. The Toreros hit a match-best .444 and held off a late surge from the Cougars to take the set and lead the match, 2-1.
However, the Cougars would not go quietly, putting together an 8-1 run midway through the fourth set and winning, 25-17, to force a deciding fifth set.
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It was all San Diego in the final frame. At 4-all, the Toreros took full control of the set, going on an 8-2 run behind six USD kills including three from Turner. At 14-10, Jacobsen collected a final kill off the BYU block to complete the upset.
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The Toreros remain on the road next week to begin the second half of conference play, traveling to Pepperdine (Oct. 24) and Loyola Marymount (Oct. 26).