San Diego (0-0, 0-0 WCC)  •  Saint Mary's (1-3, 1-3 WCC)
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

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SAN DIEGO—No. 21 San Diego will open up the unique spring 2021 season with a pair of matches against Saint Mary's on Sunday and Monday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The Toreros (0-0, 0-0 WCC) will face the Gaels (1-3, 1-3 WCC) to open up a conference-only spring schedule with both matches scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.
 
The matches will be streamed via the WCC Network and live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAINT MARY'S
•  Sunday will be the 71st meeting between the Toreros and the Gaels. USD leads the all-time series 56-14 and swept the series last season 3-1 at home and 3-0 in Moraga.
 
• The teams first met during the 1987 season and San Diego has won eight of the last 10 matches. The last victory for SMC came in 2018 when they swept the series 3-0 and 3-2.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
• San Diego appeared at No. 23 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll and has since moved up two spots to No. 21 in week two of the season rankings.
 
• The Toreros have appeared in the national top-25 poll for 23 consecutive seasons, with 22 top-10 appearances. USD's highest ranking was No. 2 overall (Sept. 16, 2013).
 
LOOKING AHEAD
• The Toreros will continue a busy opening week, hosting Portland for a pair of matches on Wednesday and Thursday. The series will be a makeup from matches that were originally scheduled for Feb. 2 and 3.
 
TOREROS PICKED NO. 1
• USD was picked to finish first overall in a poll of WCC coaches with 78 points and seven of the 10 first-place votes. BYU was picked to finish second with 72 points and one first-place vote, while Pepperdine picked up the remaining two votes, with 69 points to rank third. Santa Clara came in fourth with 55 points, followed by Loyola Marymount (50), Saint Mary's (41), Pacific (27), Gonzaga (27), San Francisco (18) and Portland (13).
 
FOUR TOREROS NAMED TO WCC PRESEASON TEAM
• Annie Benbow, Thana Fayad, Grace Frohling and Katie Lukes were named to the Spring 2021 All-WCC Preseason Team, the four honorees were the most by any one program on the list.
 
• Benbow took over as the starting libero in her sophomore season with the Toreros and was outstanding, appearing in all 31 matches for USD and collecting a team-high 397 digs (3.58 per set).
 
• Fayad led the Toreros with 298 kills (2.87 per set) and averaged 3.06 kills per set in conference play to rank top-10 in the WCC. The redshirt senior outside hitter tallied nine double-doubles as a six-rotation player, collecting 260 digs to rank third on the team in 2019.
 
• Frohling collected 264 kills (2.67 per set) in her debut season and a team-high 27 aces—22 of which came in WCC play. Frohling also tallied 62 total blocks to average 3.27 points per set—ranking third-highest for USD.
 
• This is the second preseason honor for Lukes who was also named to the team as a sophomore in 2019. The outside hitter finished second on the team with 298 kills (2.98 per set, hitting at a .285 clip a season ago.
 
EXPERIENCED ROSTER
• San Diego returns nine scholar-athletes from the 2019 WCC championship team that finished the season 25-6 overall, 17-1 in WCC play and made it to
 
• The Toreros return five starters, including Annie Benbow (L), Grace Frohling (OPP), Thana Fayad (OH), Lauren Turner (MB) and Roxie Wiblin (OH). The roster currently boasts seven Toreros who saw action in at least 50 percent of USD's matches.
 
• USD returns five All-WCC honorees including WCC Freshman of the Year, Frohling, who also earned first team honors along with Fayad. Katie Lukes was a second team honoree, while Benbow and Turner earned honorable mention. Head coach Jennifer Petrie was named 2019 WCC Coach of the Year after leading her team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
REIGNING WCC CHAMPIONS
• San Diego claimed the 2019 West Coast Conference Championship with a 17-1 conference record. It marks the 11th WCC title in program history and fifth of the decade. USD is tied with Pepperdine for most conference titles in the WCC.
 
ALL-AMERICAN SEASON
• Opposite Grace Frohling was a breakout star in her first season with the Toreros in 2019, earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region honorable mention and AVCA Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year in addition to her collection of WCC accolades. She was also selected to the 2020 U.S. Collegiate National Team-Anaheim roster, which ultimately did not train due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
• The 6-5, Los Angeles native, finished her freshman campaign with 264 kills (2.61 per set) and tied for second on the team with 27 aces. Frohling did not shy away from the high-pressure situations, recording a career-high 17 kills against No. 2 Nebraska, No. 20 USD and No. 23 Washington State (NCAA Round 1). She also tallied a career-high six blocks, adding 12 kills at No. 10 BYU.
 
NOTABLE DEPARTURES
• San Diego lost four Toreros to graduation in 2020, including WCC Setter of the Year and AVCA All-Region honoree, Anna Newsome. Newsome, an All-WCC first team selection started all 31 matches, collecting 1072 assists (9.57 per set) and led the team with 32 aces.
 
• The Toreros will have big shoes to fill in the middle with the graduation of middle blocker Megan Jacobsen, also an AVCA All-Region honoree. Jacobsen also earned All-WCC first team honors after ranking in the top-10 in the nation in hitting percentage (7^th, .411) second on the team in blocks (92) third on the team in kills (292).
 
• San Diego will also be without a longtime presence on the bench, as former associate head coach Brent Hilliard left USD after 19 seasons to take the head coaching job at San Diego State last spring.
 
FRESH FACES
• The Toreros added five newcomers for the 2020-21 season, including three true freshmen and two transfers.
 
• Middle blocker Gabby Goddard (Lexington, Mass) joined the Toreros as a junior transfer from Kentucky, while setter Isadora Terçariol came to USD by way of Säo Paulo, Brazil and will have four years of eligibility with the Toreros. Both joined the team in January 2021.
 
• The true freshmen include Alex Hoglund (Berkeley, Calif.), Kylie Pries and Elly Schraeder who joined USD this past fall.