SAN DIEGO — Katie Lukes and
Grace Frohling each reached double-digit kills, Isadora Terçariol notched 34 assists with 15 digs, and No. 25 San Diego women's volleyball (7-3, 1-0 WCC) cruised to a 3-0 victory over Saint Mary's (6-4, 0-1 WCC) on Thursday night as it began West Coast Conference play in the Jenny Craig Pavilion with a sweep.
USD took control of the match in the first set and never looked back, progressively expanding its lead until it prevailed by a 25-7 margin. San Diego, which never trailed in the set, out-hit Saint Mary's .448 to .000, setting forth strong defense alongside five kills from Lukes in the frame.
The second set, in which the Toreros also never fell behind in, saw the Gaels battle to stay within one point of USD throughout the frame. The score remained close down the stretch as Saint Mary's made it a 21-20 game, but a trio of attack errors from SMC and a kill from Frohling sealed a 25-21 decision in the match's middle set in favor of the Toreros.
Set three marked a return to dominance for San Diego as it established an early lead, then built on it. Like the two sets before, the Toreros got better as the frame went on, with their final lead being their largest, a 16-point advantage courtesy of another kill from
Grace Frohling that secured a 25-9 victory in the set, and a 3-0 sweep in the match.
Lukes led the way for the Toreros with 15 kills, six digs, and a service ace as she hit .375, while Frohling wasn't too far behind with 10 kills, five digs of her own, and three service aces as she hit .348. Terçariol added three kills and a service ace,
Kylie Pries had six and hit at a .462 clip, and
Leyla Blackwell put together four at a .375 average.
Libero
Annie Benbow had 18 digs and two service aces.
Defensively, Frohling paced San Diego with a match-high four block assists, Blackwell recorded three, and
Gabby Goddard notched two.
The Toreros are back in action this Saturday, September 25 as they continue WCC play against Pacific. First serve in the JCP is set for 12 p.m.