OMAHA, Neb.—No. 21 San Diego saw its season come to an end on Thursday, falling to No. 11 seed Louisville, 3-1, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Toreros (13-5) came out of the gate swinging, taking the opening set but ultimately falling 25-14, 23-25, 17-25, 27-29 to the Cardinals in a back and forth battle that saw 21 ties and nine lead changes in the CHI Health Center Omaha.
 
Grace Frohling led USD with 17 kills, hitting .367 and adding three block assists and one ace to finish the day with 19.5 points. Seniors Roxie Wiblin and Thana Fayad added 13 and 11 kills respectively. Wiblin also finished with a double-double tallying 11 digs in the match.
 
Defensively, Annie Benbow led the way in the back court with 15 digs and Fayad finished with eight. Kylie Pries led the way at the net with four block assists and Gabby Goddard added three, while USD finished with seven total team blocks.
 
Isadora Terçariol directed the offense to a .202 hitting percentage, collecting 38 assists and adding six digs for the Toreros.
 
The Cardinals are currently ranked first in the nation in blocks per set and Thursday was no different. They collected 15 total team blocks in the match, which proved to be the difference-maker.
 
It was all San Diego to start the match, with the Toreros leading by as many as 12. USD hit .269 in the first set, while limiting Louisville to -.077. The Cardinals committed seven hitting errors in the opening frame and USD won handily, 25-14.
 
Louisville took an 8-5 lead to start the second set before USD put together an 12-4 run to take the lead by five. A 5-1 run from the Cardinals tied the set at 20-20 and the teams traded points to 23-23. UL closed out the set with back-to-back points to tie the match a one set each.
 
After a 5-2 lead to start from the Cardinals, USD rallied to tie things up at 10-all in the third set. A four-point run gave Louisville the advantage again and the teams traded points up to 21-17. The Cardinals took the final four points consecutively to take the third set 25-23 and lead the match 2-1.
 
The fourth and final set was a dramatic end that saw eight ties and four lead changes. USD took an early 7-4 lead, but the Cardinals answered with a run of their own to tie the set 7-7. The Toreros then outscored UL 9-4 to take a five-point lead, 16-11, midway through the set.
 
Louisville pulled within one point at 17-16, but the Toreros held on to a 23-21 lead late and it looked as if the match was heading to a deciding fifth set. The Cardinals then rattled off three consecutive points to bring it to match point 24-23.
 
Fayad saved the first match point with a kill off the block but a service error gave UL its second of the day. Frohling's hit tagged the back line but was called out and a timely challenge from USD saved another match point at 25-all. Fayad followed with another kill and USD got its first set point, 26-25. Fayad came up clutch again with another kill to give USD the advantage 27-26, but three straight points for Louisville ended the set 29-27, the match.
 
With the loss, San Diego concludes a remarkable season of adversity and perseverance that saw USD make its 11th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
The defeat also concludes the careers of USD seniors, Wiblin and Fayad who helped the Toreros to two WCC titles, four NCAA appearances, four trips to the second round and one Sweet 16 appearance.
 
The 2020-21 senior class closes out their careers with a record of 81-29 and both earned Pacific South All-Region recognition for the spring season.
 
The future is bright for San Diego, with 11 letterwinners expected to return and three talented incoming freshmen signed.