SAN DIEGO — No. 19 San Diego volleyball (19-5, 13-2 WCC) lost its first home game of the 2021 season on Saturday afternoon, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Pepperdine (19-5, 11-4 WCC) that snapped a five-game win streak for USD and brought its home record to 9-1.

The loss came despite 21 kills from junior Grace Frohling, 45 assists from redshirt sophomore Isadora Terçariol, and 16 digs from senior libero Annie Benbow.

The Toreros took the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-17, then dropped the next three by scores of 25-21, 25-20, and 17-15 to suffer the 3-2 loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - (San Diego, 25-19)

• Frohling knotted the score at four with a kill, then freshman Haylee Stoner tied it again at 11 with a big block.
• Another block put USD up 13-11, then an ace from Benbow expanded the lead, making it 15-12.
• Another kill from Frohling made it 17-13 before an ace from freshman Anna Jaworowski moved the score to 23-15.
• A service error and an attack error by Pepperdine secured the win for the Toreros in the set, 25-19.

Second Set - (San Diego , 25-17)

• Frohling put USD up early with a changeup to make it 2-1, then senior Katie Lukes hammered a kill to make it 4-2.
• A kill from sophomore Kylie Pries made it 7-3 with a kill, then an ace from Terçariol moved the score to 12-6 in favor of US.
• Haylee Stoner then hammered a kill to push the Torero lead to 20-14.
• Lukes notched a clutch kill to bring the set to set point before a service error from the Waves earned USD a 25-17 win in the second set.

Third Set - (Pepperdine, 25-21)

• After falling behind early, Lukes was a factor yet again for the Toreros, bringing her team back within one with a kill to make it 5-4 Pepperdine.
• A clutch block from Frohling and Stoner kept the deficit at one (8-7 Pepperdine), then Frohling tied things up at nine with a kill.
• After trading points with the Waves throughout the set, the Toreros pulled within one point at 22-21 Pepperdine, but could not get any closer, dropping the third set by a 25-21 margin to move the match score to 2-1 USD.

Fourth Set - (Pepperdine, 25-20)

• After trailing in the set's early stages, a clutch service ace from Frohling brought USD within four, 14-10.
• A service ace from Jaworowski tied the score at 16, but the Toreros could not finish the job and pull ahead, dropping the set by a 25-20 margin despite having it as close as 22-20 late in the frame.

Fifth Set - (Pepperdine, 17-15)

• A block from Haylee Stoner helped USD get out to a 3-1 lead in the final set, then USD expanded its advantage to make it 4-2 off a block from Lukes.
• Another clutch block pushed USD ahead a few points later, making it 9-8.
• The Toreros pulled ahead 12-10 on a block from Blackwell and Frohling, but Pepperdine tied the match at 13 a few points later via a service ace.
• USD tied it at 14 and 15 but dropped the set and the match by a 17-15 and 3-2 margin on attack errors from Lukes and Frohling.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Frohling had 12 block assists and nine digs, while Stoner set a new career-high for the second match in a row with 10 block assists (one solo).
• Katie Lukes had eight digs, while senior libero Camryn Tastad, Terçariol, and Pries each had seven.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will travel to Moraga, California next time out on Thursday, November 18 to take on Saint Mary's. First serve at McKeon Pavilion is set for 7 pm.