No. 22 San Diego (12-3, 6-0 WCC)  •  No. 24 Pepperdine (13-2, 5-1 WCC) • Loyola Marymount (14-2, 5-1 WCC)

Oct. 14 | Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104)  •  Malibu, Calif. | Oct. 16 | Gersten Pavilion (4,156) • Los Angeles, Calif.

Live Stream  •  WCC Network |  Live Statistics  • PepperdineWaves.Com/LMULions.com

Social  •  Facebook.com/USDVolleyball  •  Twitter.com/USDVolleyball  •  Instagram.com/USDVolleyball

MALIBU, Calif. — Fresh off another undefeated homestand, No. 22 San Diego volleyball (12-3, 6-0 WCC) will hit the road again this week, traveling to Malibu and Los Angeles for a pair of crucial West Coast Conference matches.

Winners of their last six matches in a row, the Toreros will attempt to extend their win streak at Pepperdine's Firestone Fieldhouse against the No. 24 Waves (13-2, 5-1 WCC) on Thursday before they travel to nearby Gersten Pavilion on Saturday to take on Loyola Marymount (14-2, 5-1 WCC).

Thursday night's match is set to begin at 7 p.m., and Saturday's contest will get going at 1 p.m.
Both will be streamed live on the WCC Network, and live statistics will be available on PepperdineWaves.com and LMULions.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PEPPERDINE
• The Toreros are 33-42 against the Waves all-time, but are 14-6 in their last 20 matchups with Pepperdine, a span that has included a nine-game win streak over the Waves from 2012-2016.

• The two programs last met in March as part of the Spring 2021 campaign, a 3-1 USD win in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

• San Diego last traveled to Pepperdine in October of 2019, suffering a 3-0 loss.

• USD's last win at the Waves was in October 2017, a 3-2 decision in Malibu.

• The Toreros are just 12-26 all-time at the Firestone Fieldhouse, but are 5-2 there since 2011.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Toreros are 45-41 against the Lions all-time and are 17-3 in their last 20 games opposite LMU, including a nine-game win streak from 2016 to 2019.

• The two programs last met in March of 2021 as part of the Spring 2021 campaign, a 3-2 USD defeat in Los Angeles.

• The Toreros' last win at LMU came the day before that 3-2 defeat in March of 2021, a 3-0 decision.

• San Diego is 23-21 all-time at the Gersten Pavilion and is 7-1 there since 2011.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Toreros rolled to their sixth consecutive conference win last time out on Saturday, taking down Portland in straight sets in the Jenny Craig Pavilion in what marked their seventh sweep of the 2021 season.

• Junior Grace Frohling matched a career high of 19 kills with four blocks, while senior Katie Lukes added 12 kills. Redshirt sophomore Isadora Tercariol ended with 29 assists and 10 digs. Senior Annie Benbow led the team with 15 digs.

First Set - (San Diego, 25-16)
• San Diego jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the set, with two kills and a block from Frohling.

• A service ace from Camryn Tastad punctuated a 3-0 run for USD, putting the home team up 17-8.

• Isadora Terçariol sealed the set win with a service ace.

Second Set - (San Diego, 25-15)
• After dropping the first point, the Toreros scored the next four, including two kills from Lukes.

• An 8-2 USD run propelled it to a 12-5 advantage.

• The Pilots cut the deficit to five, but San Diego answered with another 8-2 run to go ahead 23-11. Two kills from Lukes and two from Frohling helped pull away. The duo also combined for a block.

• After four straight Portland points, USD sealed the win with a Frohling service ace.

Third Set - (San Diego, 25-19)
• Portland took a 9-6 lead early in the third set, but USD answered with six straight points. Leyla
Blackwell registered two blocks in the span.

• San Diego stormed to a 20-14 behind a service ace and a kill from Frohling.

• The Pilots battled back with four straight to cut their deficit to 20-18, but the home team rattled off five of the next six points to earn the sweep.

BLACKWELL EARNS SECOND WCC WEEKLY HONOR
• Middle blocker Leyla Blackwell has been named the West Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday afternoon.

• It's the second time this season that Blackwell has earned the honor after securing it on September 13, and the third overall for USD after Kylie Pries and Katie Lukes were named the WCC's Offensive Player of the Week on September 13 and October 4, respectively.

• The San Diego, California native led the way for the Toreros defensively this week, tallying eight total blocks (one solo) across two games versus Gonzaga and Portland.

• On Thursday versus the Bulldogs, Blackwell had five block assists, and on Saturday against the Pilots she had three, with one solo.

• The sophomore has 68 block assists and 16 solo blocks so far this season, both of which lead the Toreros.

FROHLING FLOURISHING
• Junior opposite/setter Grace Frohling has paced the Torero offense with a team-best 196 kills so far in 2021, a mark that leads the roster by more than 50 kills.

• The Los Angeles, California native has tallied a team-leading 16 service aces in addition to her wealth of kills, and her 59 total blocks and 105 digs are both second on the team

• On Thursday and Saturday she added to those totals, putting up 10 kills with two service aces three blocks, and five digs against the Bulldogs before she matched a career-high of 19 kills alongside another two service aces, four blocks, and three digs versus the Pilots.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
• Libero Annie Benbow has been a mainstay for the Toreros on defense, totaling a team-best 228 digs through USD's 15 games so far in 2021.

• She added to that total this week against Gonzaga and Portland, tallying 19 digs versus the Bulldogs and 15 against the Pilots.

• The Frisco, Texas native is now in her fourth year with USD, and has earned All-WCC honors on three occasions (2019, honorable mention, 2020-2021 and 2019, academic honorable mention).

A HELPING HAND
• Setter Isadora Terçariol has been at the center of the Toreros' success so far this season, with 434 assists under her belt in 2021.

• On Thursday against Gonzaga she added 20 assists, then added 29 more against Portland on Saturday.

• Terçariol, a redshirt sophomore from Bauru, Säo Paulo, Brazil, has already bested her assists total from a season ago (239) and after appearing in 14 of USD's 15 matches thus far has also already surpassed her previous season high of sets played (29) with 48.

IN THE RANKINGS
•The Toreros moved up three positions in the AVCA Weekly Coaches' Poll for week seven (Oct. 11), grabbing the No. 22 spot.
 
• The Toreros have appeared in the national top-25 poll for 24 consecutive seasons, with 22 top-10 appearances. USD's highest ranking was No. 2 overall (Sept. 16, 2013).
 
• USD's highest-ranked victory came on Sept. 13, 2013 against No. 1 USC (3-1) in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. It marks the only time the Toreros have defeated a top-ranked team.