SPOKANE, Wash.—Thana Fayad tallied a career-best 23 kills No. 18 San Diego's five-set thriller, coming out on top 3-2 over Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre.
 
The Toreros (8-0, 8-0 WCC) held off a strong challenge from the Bulldogs (2-6, 2-6 WCC) in a 21-25, 25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 15-10 victory to sweep the series over GU and notch their fourth win in five days.
 
USD got a major performance from its senior outside hitter, Fayad, who finished the day with her third double-double of the season tallying 16 digs to go along with her 23 kills. Fayad also collected three aces and one block assist for a career-high 26.5 points.
 
Roxie Wiblin also finished the day with a double-double, collecting 17 kills, 14 digs and adding one ace and three blocks to finish with 19.5 points. Grace Frohling tallied 12 kills for USD and Lauren Turner finished with seven, hitting at a .429 clip.
 
In her first match at libero this season, Annie Benbow recorded a match-high 25 digs which was also a new career-high for the junior defensive specialist. Benbow also notched two of USD's seven aces in the contest. Turner led the way defensively at the net with six total blocks (1 solo) and Laura Madill and Wiblin both added three of USD's 10 total blocks.
 
Madill directed the offense to a .283 hitting percentage with a career-best 41 assists and Alex Hoglund chipped in 12 assists coming in for a pivotal performance in the deciding set.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle to start the match with the teams trading the lead to a 9-9 tie before Gonzaga put together a 9-3 run to take a commanding lead. USD battled to within two points, 20-22, but the Bulldogs took the first set, 25-21 putting San Diego behind in the match 0-1 for the first time this season.
 
The Toreros bounced back in the second set, taking an early 6-1 lead behind two kills from Frohling and a Benbow ace. USD hit a match-high .378 in the set and extended its lead 15-9. The Bulldogs pulled within two but the Toreros outscored GU down the stretch 7-1 to take the second set, 25-17.
 
It was another tight contest to start the third set before a 6-1 run put the Bulldogs on top, 10-7. The teams pulled even at 19-19 with a kill from Turner and USD then scored the final seven points to take the set, 25-19 and lead the match 2-1.
 
Gonzaga held the early advantage in the fourth frame, 9-5, before the Toreros rallied to within two halfway through the set. The Bulldogs then put together two four-point runs and took a 22-15 lead. Two kills from Wiblin and two GU hitting errors and the Toreros rallied to 19-23 but the Bulldogs closed out the set 25-20 and tied the match 2-2.
 
In the deciding set, GU had the early lead 3-1 before USD took control with a 6-2 run including three-straight kills from Fayad. Fayad scored six of her 23 kills in the final set hitting a blazing .750 with eight swings and zero errors. The Bulldogs pulled within one point, 11-10 but the Toreros closed out the match with four-straight points to take the set, 15-10, and the match 3-2.
 
The Toreros return home for a midweek series against San Francisco on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT and Thursday at 12 p.m. PT in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.