SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—Katie Lukes and Kylie Pries recorded new career-high kills and Grace Frohling finished one kill shy of her career mark, but it wasn't enough as No. 22 San Diego fell to No. 19 Utah, 3-1, on Friday evening in the Huntsman Center.
 
In a match that saw 34 ties and 14 lead changes, it was the Utes (4-0) that came out on top, 30-28, 22-25, 22-25, 17-25.
 
The Toreros (2-2) hit .245 as a team, with Lukes leading the way with 19 kills and a blazing .459 hitting percentage. Frohling finished second on the team with 18 kills (.244) and Pries added 15 kills at a .297 clip.
 
Defensively, USD held the advantage at the net with 13.0 team blocks compared to 11.0 for UU. Gabby Goddard and Frohling led the team with seven blocks each, while Leyla Blackwell added four.
 
Annie Benbow collected 17 digs in the match, and Frohling and Lukes finished with nine and eight digs respectively. Isadora Terçariol tallied 49 assists and chipped in seven digs as well.
 
The opening frame set the tone for a tightly contested match, with 12 ties and five lead changes pushing to a 30-28 victory for USD. Pries led the charge out of the gate, with six kills at a .545 clip and the Toreros collected six blocks to hold the Utes to a match-low .104 hitting percentage.
 
The teams stayed knotted through the first half of the second set before a 4-0 run gave the Utes a 17-13 advantage. The Toreros countered with a run of their own to pull within one point, 19-20. USD trailed by one as late as 22-23 before back-to-back errors by the Toreros gave the Utes the set, 25-22 and tied the match at one set apiece.
 
The third set was more of the same with the teams trading the lead five different times. The Toreros recorded their best hitting percentage of the match (.314) and put together a 3-1 run to tie the match at 22-all. However, three-straight points from the Utes closed out the set and gave UU a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
After the teams tied things early at 6-6, Utah went on a 7-1 run to take a comfortable lead in the fourth and final set. At 8-14, Lukes suffered an apparent ankle injury and the Toreros struggled to regroup without their leading scorer on the court. Three consecutive kills from Pries and an ace from Alex Hoglund seemed to give USD some life, making it 15-19 but the deficit proved too much to overcome. The Utes closed out the set on a 4-0 run to take the match, 3-1.
 
Up next, the Toreros will remain in Utah to face Cal Poly on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (PT) to wrap up the Utah Classic.