HONOLULU—No. 20 San Diego defeated No. 23 Washington State, 3-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Toreros (25-5) had four players reach double-digit kills on their way to a 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14 victory over the Cougars (23-10). USD will face No. 18 Hawaii on Saturday at 9 p.m. PT.
 
Grace Frohling paced the Toreros offensively with 17 kills, tying her career high. Katie Lukes added 15 kills for USD, while Thana Fayad and Megan Jacobsen finished with 12 and 11 kills respectively.
 
Anna Newsome directed the San Diego offense to a .308 hitting percentage, collecting 57 assists—one shy of her career high. Newsome tallied 15 digs to record her eighth double-double of the season and added eight kills for the Toreros.
 
USD was strong defensively, holding the Cougars to a .168 hitting percentage on the night. The Toreros excelled in the back court, collecting 76 digs compared to WSU's 44. Annie Benbow led USD with 21 digs and Fayad added 10 for her 10th double-double of the season.
 
Jacobsen finished with three blocks for USD, while Lukes and Fayad added two and one respectively.
 
Lukes had the hot hand to start the match, collecting five of her 15 kills in the first set, while Newsome, Frohling and Fayad all added four kills for USD. The Toreros used an early 6-1 run to create distance, leading by as many as eight down the stretch on their way to an easy first-set victory.
 
The second set saw a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than four points. USD pulled within one at 22-23 before the Cougars rattled off two straight points to even the match at one set apiece.
 
The teams were knotted at 11-all in third frame before USD went on an 8-0 run including back-to-back kills from Frohling to take a commanding lead. Frohling collected seven of her 17 kills in the set and the Toreros collected 20 kills as a team to take the 2-1 match lead.
 
San Diego picked up right where it left off in the final set, hitting a match-best .387 paced by Lukes with five kills. USD's defense held the Cougars to their lowest percentage of the night (-.032) behind 19 digs and two team blocks.
 
The Toreros will face No. 18 Hawaii on Saturday night at 9 p.m. PT. in the second round.