No. 25 San Diego (10-3, 4-0 WCC)  •  Gonzaga (5-10, 1-3 WCC) •  Portland (4-9, 1-3 WCC)

Oct. 7 and 9  |  Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)  •  San Diego, Calif.

Live Stream  •  WCC Network |  Live Statistics  •  USDToreros.com

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

SAN DIEGO — After a successful road trip to the Bay Area, No. 25 San Diego volleyball (10-3, 4-0 WCC) returns home this week for a pair of matches against West Coast Conference opponents.

The Toreros will welcome Gonzaga (5-10, 1-3 WCC) to the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday night (7 p.m.) before hosting Portland (4-9, 1-3 WCC) on Saturday afternoon (12 p.m.)

Both matchups will be streamed live on the WCC Network with the Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin on the call. Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS GONZAGA
• USD is 57-9 against the Bulldogs all-time (a span that dates back to 1987), and have won each of the last 52 meetings between the two programs.

• San Diego has never lost to the Zags in the JCP since it opened in 2000, and last suffered a defeat to Gonzaga on September 30, 1994, a 3-1 decision in Spokane

• After dropping seven matchups in a row from 1988 to 1991, the Toreros have been beaten by the Bulldogs just twice since 1992.

• The two programs last met in February of this year as part of the Spring 2021 campaign, with San Diego taking both matchups by scores of 3-0 and 3-2 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PORTLAND
• USD is 59-9 against the Pilots all-time (a span that dates back to 1987), and have won each of the last eight meetings between the two programs.

• The Toreros and Portland last met in February of this year as part of the Spring 2021 campaign, with USD winning both matchups by scores of 3-1 and 3-0.

• San Diego's last loss to the Pilots came in November of 2016, a 3-2 decision in the JCP.

• USD's all-time series with Portland includes a 45-game win streak from 1992 to 2015.

• In total, the Toreros have lost to the Pilots just twice since 1991.

LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego enjoyed an undefeated road trip to Northern California last week, traveling to San Francisco before wrapping up the away swing at Santa Clara.

• USD took down the Dons in straight sets on September 30 in what marked its third straight sweep to begin conference play, then beat the Broncos by a 3-1 margin on October 2 to earn a win for the fourth consecutive match.

Thursday at San Francisco (3-0 win)
• USD took the first set 25-20, won a close 26-24 decision in the match's middle frame, then cruised to a 25-15 win to secure the 3-0 match victory in the third set.

• Katie Lukes led the way for San Diego with 11 kills, two service aces, and a pair of digs, while Grace Frohling wasn't too far behind with 10 kills, a service ace, and nine digs.

• Setter Isadora Terçariol had 20 assists, followed by Laura Madill with 11. Libero Annie Benbow led USD with 12 digs.

Saturday at Santa Clara (3-1 win)
• The Toreros won the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-19 before dropping the third by a 25-19 margin, then finished things how they started, closing the match out with another 25-17 win in the fourth.

• Katie Lukes led the way for USD with 17 kills and seven digs, closely followed by Grace Frohling with 16 kills and eight digs of her own. 

• Leyla Blackwell totalled seven kills, Emily Wilson had six, and Laura Madill and Elly Schraeder each had one.

• Defensively, Blackwell paced the Toreros with nine blocks, complemented by a six-block performance from Frohling and four from Lukes.

• Libero Annie Benbow had 18 digs, and setter Laura Madill racked up 45 assists.

LUKES NAMED WCC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Following San Diego's road trip last week, outside hitter Katie Lukes was been named the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday afternoon.

• The senior was key to the Toreros' big week, totaling 28 kills and a pair of service aces across wins at San Francisco and Santa Clara.

• On Thursday against the Dons Lukes had 11 kills and two service aces as she hit .321, and on Saturday against the Broncos she tallied 17 kills while hitting .179. For the season she has recorded 122 kills and has notched five total service aces.

• It's the first WCC weekly offensive honor for Lukes and the second overall for the Toreros this season after Kylie Pries was selected in week three.

FROHLING FLOURISHING
• Junior opposite/setter Grace Frohling has paced the Torero offense with a team-best 167 kills so far in 2021, a mark that leads the roster by more than 40 kills.

• The Los Angeles, California native has tallied a team-leading 12 service aces in addition to her wealth of kills, and her up 52 total blocks and 97 digs are both second on the team.

BUILDING BLOCKS FROM BLACKWELL
• Sophomore middle blocker Leyla Blackwell has been among the USD's most prolific defensive players so far this year, racking up 75 total blocks (15 solo) to lead the Toreros in both categories.

• Blackwell, a native of nearby La Jolla, California, has also done her part on the offensive side of things in her first year with USD, racking yup a total of 69 kills that ranks third on the team.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
• Libero Annie Benbow has been a mainstay for the Toreros on defense, totaling a team-best 194 digs through USD's 13 games so far in 2021.

• 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 385 assists under her belt in 2021.

• Terçariol, a redshirt sophomore from Bauru, Säo Paulo, Brazil, has already bested her assists total from a season ago (239) and after appearing in 12 of USD's 13 matches thus far has also already surpassed her previous season high of sets played (29) with 42.

IN THE RANKINGS
•The Toreros held steady in the AVCA Weekly Coaches' Poll for week six (Oct. 4) maintaining their spot at No. 25.
 
• 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.