No. 4 San Diego (15-1, 6-0 WCC)  •  Pacific (10-8, 2-4 WCC) • Saint Mary's

October 13 | Alex G. Spanos Center (6,150) • Stockton, California

October 15 | UCU Pavilion (3,500) | Moraga, California

Live Stream  •  WCC Network |  Live Statistics  • PacificTigers.com/SMCGaels.com

Social  •  Facebook.com/USDVolleyball  •  Twitter.com/USDVolleyball  •  Instagram.com/USDVolleyball

STOCKTON, Calif. — No. 4 San Diego volleyball (15-1, 6-0 WCC) will take its 12-game win streak on the road this week, traveling to Pacific (10-8, 2-4 WCC) and Saint Mary's for a pair of matches as it continues West Coast Conference play.

The Toreros will get things started on Thursday night with a 6 p.m. matchup against the Tigers at the Alex G. Spanos Center, then will wrap up their weekend on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. matchup opposite the Gaels at the UCU Pavilion. Both matches will be streamed live on the WCC Network, and live statistics will be provided on PacificTigers.com and SMCGaels.com.

NCAA VOLLEYBALL COMMITTEE PLACES TOREROS THIRD
• The NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee on October 2 released its Top 10 teams for results through October 1, 2022, and placed San Diego third behind Texas and Louisville.

• The committee is tasked with determining NCAA postseason seeding for the 64-team tournament field, in addition to regional sites and hosts.

NCAA D-I VOLLEYBALL COMMITTEE - 2022 TOP 10 TEAMS THROUGH OCTOBER 1
1. Texas
2. Louisville
3. San Diego
4. Nebraska
5. Pittsburgh
6. Ohio State
7. Oregon
8. Stanford
9. Purdue
10. Minnesota

• San Diego has beaten two teams on the committee's top 10 list — Pitt on August 26 (3-2) and Ohio State on September 3 (3-0).

• USD's lone loss so far this season came at the hands of Louisville, which ranks second on the Top 10 and dealt the Toreros a tough 3-1 decision on September 2 as part of the Cardinal Classic.

FOUR CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN THE NATION'S TOP FIVE
• USD held fast at No. 4 in Monday's (October 10)'s AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll for the fourth straight week.

• No. 4 marks the Toreros' highest placement since September 16, 2013, when San Diego reached the highest national ranking in program history (No. 2).

• Monday's placement remains the second-highest ranking in program history (details below)

USD'S HIGHEST ALL-TIME AVCA TOP 25 RANKINGS
1.  No. 2 - September 16, 2013

2.  No. 4 - Current Ranking (September 19, September 26, October 3, and October 10, 2022)

3.  No. 5 - October 3, 2016 - October 24, 2016 (Four times)

4.  No. 6 - September 26, 2016

5.  No. 7 - September 19, 2016

6.  No. 8 - Seven times (Once this season, six times in 2013)
          • Most recent: September 12, 2022

7.   No. 9 - Six times (four in 2013, two in 2017)
          • Most recent: November 27, 2017

8. No. 10 - September 12, 2016

• San Diego, which got as high as No. 19 last season, began 2022 at No. 25 (preseason) and moved up in each subsequent poll before sticking at No. 4 in four straight weeks (September 19-October 10).

USD IN THE 2022 AVCA TOP 25 - WEEK BY WEEK
Preseason (August 15)  No. 25
Week One (August 29) No. 15
Week Two (Sept. 5) No. 12
Week Three (Sept. 12) No. 8
Week Five (Sept. 19)  No. 4
Week Six (Sept. 26)   No. 4
Week Seven (October 3) No. 4
Week Eight (October 10) No. 4

• The Toreros have been nationally ranked in each of their last 25 seasons, including nine Top 5 rankings and 24 total placements in the nation's Top 10.

HITTING THEIR STRIDE
• San Diego enters Thursday night's action on a 12-game win streak, a stretch that dates back to September 3rd's 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Ohio State at the Cardinal Classic.

• USD has swept each of its last four matches (September 29 at Gonzaga, October 1 at Portland, October 6 versus San Francisco, and October 8 versus Santa Clara), and has won in straight sets in 10 of its 16 total contests so far this season.

• The Toreros' 25-8 win over the Dons in the third set on Thursday night marked San Diego's largest margin of victory so far this season (17 points), besting September 17th's 13-point, 25-12 effort in the fourth and final set of the Toreros' 3-1 win against San Diego State.

SAN DIEGO SWEEPS IN 2022
• August 27 at Texas A&M
• August 28 vs. RV Hawaii (neutral site)
• September 3 vs. No. 8 Ohio State (neutral site)
• September 9 vs. SMU
• September 9 vs. UConn
• September 16 vs. RV UCLA
• September 29 at Gonzaga
• October 1 at Portland
• October 6 vs. San Francisco
• October 8 vs. Santa Clara

TOUGH COMPETITION
• Five of No. 4 San Diego's 2022 opponents were ranked when USD played them, or are currently ranked in October 10th's AVCA Coaches Poll.

Those teams are…

• No. 6 Pitt - August 26 (3-2 USD win)
• No. 3 Louisville - September 2 (3-1 USD loss)
• No. 8 Ohio State  - September 3 (3-0 USD win)
• No. 17 Pepperdine - September 22 (3-1 USD win) and November 19*
• No. 15 BYU - October 21 and November 22

*Pepperdine is currently ranked No. 20 in the AVCA Top 25

• Hawaii, which the Toreros swept on August 28, Utah, which San Diego beat 3-2 on September 10 and UCLA, which San Diego swept on September 16, were all receiving votes at the time USD played them, receiving 48, 50, and 44 votes in those weeks, respectively.

• September 22nd's win over No. 17 Pepperdine marked USD's third win over a Top 25 opponent this season. The Toreros are 3-1 against such teams, and are 2-1 against the AVCA's top five.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PACIFIC
• The Toreros are 17-1 against the Tigers all-time, with the two teams last meeting on November 20, 2021, a tough 3-1 San Diego loss in Stockton.

• USD had won each of its previous 17 meetings with Pacific and is 8-1 all-time against the Tigers on the road.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAINT MARY'S
• The Toreros are 56-14 against the Gaels all-time and have won each of their last six matchups with Saint Mary's.

• San Diego and SMC last met on November 18, 2021, a 3-1 Torero win in Moraga.

• USD last lost to the Gaels on November 17, 2018, a tough 3-0 decision on the road at the UCU Pavilion.

BLACKWELL AND STONER HEADLINE DYNAMIC USD DEFENSE
• Led by junior outside hitter Leyla Blackwell and sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner, San Diego has ranked among the country's leaders in overall defense, limiting opponents to a minuscule .154 hitting percentage that leads the WCC and ranks 11th nationally.

• Blackwell has been at the center of USD's dominant defense this season, leading San Diego with 1.46 blocks per set, which ranks 12th nationally.

• After adding 13 over the weekend against San Francisco (eight) and Santa Clara (three), she now has 83 total blocks (13 solo) so far in 2022, which rank first in the WCC and 26th nationally.

• The San Diego, California native (La Jolla High School)'s dominance hasn't been limited to defense — she's totaled 94 kills through 16 matches so far in 2022 and is averaging 1.65 kills per set.

•An All-WCC First Team selection in 2021, Blackwell was one of three Toreros named to the 2022 WCC Preseason Team on August 24 and earned her fourth career WCC Defensive Player of the Week honor on August 29.

• Stoner has also played a key role in San Diego's defensive dominance, totaling 50 blocks (five solo) through 15 matches for a 0.98 blocks per set average through 51 frames that ranks second on the USD roster behind only Blackwell.

• A native of nearby San Marcos, California (Mission Hills High School), Stoner earned her first WCC Defensive Player of the Week honor on September 26.

BLOSSOM SETS THE TONE
• Graduate transfer setter Gabby Blossom has made an immediate impact for USD since arriving in San Diego over the summer from Penn State, racking up a team-best 618 assists, 149 digs, and a conference-high 10.54 assists per set through all 16 of the Toreros' matches thus far, which also ranks 16th nationally.

• Blossom played a central role in San Diego's 11th and 12th consecutive wins this weekend at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, tallying a total of 64 assists (10.67 A/S), one service ace, and one kill across back-to-back sweeps of San Francisco and Santa Clara.

• She racked up 28 assists, a kill, six digs, and a service ace on Thursday night against the Dons (9.33 A/S), then added 36 assists (12.00 A/S) and eight digs on Saturday afternoon against the Broncos.

• She has recorded 30 or more assists in 15 of the Toreros' 16 matches so far, including a season-high 53 on August 26 against No. 6 Pitt.

•The St. Louis, Missouri native earned all-tournament selections in each of USD's three non-conference events to open the 2022 season, including MVP selections in the Texas A&M Invitational and the USD Invitational.

BLOSSOM'S ACCOLADES IN 2022
August 28..............................................................Texas A&M Invitational MVP
September 4...........................................Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
September 12..................................................................USD Invitational MVP

LUKES STAYS HOT
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes continued to anchor the San Diego offense last weekend, totaling a team-best 25 kills across two sweeps of San Francisco and Santa Clara.

• The San Clemente, California native got things started on Thursday night against the Dons by leading the match with 12 kills, marking the seventh consecutive match in which she had done so as she hit .360 in the contest for a total of 14.5 points in USD's 3-0 victory

• Lukes picked up right where she left off on Saturday afternoon against Santa Clara, hitting .345 for 15.0 total points as she finished one kill shy of teammate Grace Frohling's match-high of 14 in San Diego's fourth consecutive sweep.

• For the season Lukes leads the Toreros with a total of 202 kills and an average of 3.61 kills per set, marks that rank fifth in the WCC.

• She has also added eight service aces, five assists, 30 blocks (two solo), and 100 digs in 2022, which ranks fourth on the USD roster and is the most of any non-setter/libero/defensive specialist.

FROHLING FLOURISHING •Senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling has complemented Blackwell and Stoner's lights-out defense, Blossom's veteran presence at setter, and Lukes' high-octane offense with superb all-around play of her own so far this season.

• The Los Angeles, California native leads her team with 18 service aces and ranks second on the USD roster with 173 kills (3.04 kills per set) while hitting .328, racking up 10 or more kills in nine of San Diego's 16 matches so far.

• On the defensive side of things, she's chipped in 47 blocks (four solo), which rank third amongst her teammates, and 49 digs, which rank sixth.

• She led Thursday's match against San Francisco in total blocks with nine alongside seven kills and five digs, then paced last Saturday afternoon's match against Santa Clara in kills with 14, hitting an even .300 in the contest while adding an assist, two digs, and two block assists.

• In that two-match stretch she totaled 21 kills (.255), one assist, seven digs, and 11 block assists.

FROHLING'S ACCOLADES IN 2022
August 24.........................................................................WCC Preseason Team

August 28......................................................Texas A&M All-Tournament Team

August 29......................................................WCC Offensive Player of the Week

August 30......................................................AVCA National Player of the Week

September 4...........................................Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team

September 12....................................... USD Invitational All-Tournament Team

EDWARDS EXCELLING IN SAN DIEGO 
• Graduate transfer outside hitter Breana Edwards has gotten out to a hot start as a Torero, racking up 167 kills through 16 matches (55 sets) so far at USD after joining the team from Indiana in the offseason. Her kill total (167) and kills per set average (3.04) both rank third on the San Diego roster.

• The Rainier, Oregon native continued her strong start over the weekend against San Francisco and Santa Clara, setting forth 14 kills while hitting .222.

• Edwards got the weekend started with five kills against the Dons while hitting .111, then finished strong with nine kills while hitting .333 against the Broncos.

BENBOW CLIMBS ALL-TIME DIGS LEADERBOARD
• Amid a flurry of offseason additions for the Toreros, redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow has continued to shine as part of a dominant San Diego defense, most recently adding a team-high 24 digs across two matches against San Francisco and Santa Clara at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

• The Frisco, Texas native set forth 11 against the Dons on Thursday, then chipped in 13 against the Broncos on Saturday, also contributing a trio of service aces and five assists.

• For the season she's totaled a team-high 203 digs and 3.56 digs per set, has 39 assists, and has chipped in 14 service aces, which rank fourth on the USD roster.

• Benbow, a 2021 All-WCC First Team selection and a 2019 All-WCC Honorable Mention, was one of three Toreros named to the 2022 WCC Volleyball Preseason Team in August.

• She enters this weekend's action with 1,368 career digs, which stands alone as the third-most in USD volleyball history.

• Benbow's six digs on September 29 at Gonzaga pushed her past LaManda Mounts' mark of 1,334 (1994-1997) and tied the graduate student with C'era Olivera's fourth-place total of 1,337 (2010-2013).

• On October 1 at Portland, she moved up another spot on San Diego's all-time digs list, passing 2005 USD Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Petia Yanchulova's total of 1,341 to move into sole possession of the third-most digs in program history with 1,344.

• With 96 more she will pass Jackie Bernardin's second-place total of 1,464, and with 121 more she will pass Hunter Jennings' San Diego-record total of 1,489 (2013-2016) to become USD's all-time digs leader.

BENBOW'S DIGS OVER THE YEARS
As a freshman (2018)............................................................................156 digs

As a sophomore (2019).....................................................397 digs (team-high)

As a junior (2020-2021)...................................................................... 179 digs

As a senior: (2021)............................................................ 433 digs (team-high)

Through 16 matches as a redshirt senior in 2022......203 digs (team-high)

Total................................................................................................... 1,368 digs

SAN DIEGO VOLLEYBALL - CAREER DIGS
1. Hunter Jennings.....................................................................1489 (2013-16)
2. Jackie Bernardin.....................................................................1464 (2003-05)
3. Annie Benbow………………………………..1368 (2018-pres.)
4. Petia Yanchulova....................................................................1341 (1996-99)
5. C'era Oliveira...........................................................................1337 (2010-13)
6. LaManda Mounts...................................................................1334 (1994-97)
7. Kristen Hurst .........................................................................1226 (2001-04)
8. Andrea Csaszi ........................................................................1202 (2006-08)
9. Devon Forster ........................................................................1189 (2001-04)
10. Lindsey Sherburne................................................................1179 (2002-05)

OTHER MILESTONES TO WATCH
• Both Katie Lukes (September 9 vs. SMU) and Grace Frohling (October 1 at Portland) hit 1,000 career kills earlier this season and could finish 2022 among San Diego's top 10 all-time kill leaders.

• Lukes (1,108 career kills) would need 120 more to move into the top 10, while Frohling (1,022) would need 206.

• Blossom, who transferred to USD from Penn State with 3,271 career assists, now has 3,889 after notching 618 so far this season and needs just 111 more to reach 4,000, something just two players have done while wearing a San Diego uniform.

• Katie Lindquist (1996-1999) finished her USD career with 4,402, which ranks second all-time in Torero history, and Lindsey Sherburne (2002-2005), San Diego's all-time assists leader, finished with 5,961.

• Edwards, who joined USD from Indiana with 1,266 kills, now has 1,433 after recording 167 so far this season and needs just 67 more to reach 1,500, something just three players have done while wearing a San Diego uniform.

• LaManda Mounts (1994-1997) ranks third in USD history with 1,503, Devon Forster (2001-2004) is second with 1,886) and Petia Yanchulova (1996-1999), a USD Athletics Hall of Famer and the Toreros' all-time kills leader, finished with 1,892.

• Head coach Jennifer Petrie reached 450 wins on August 28 at Hawaii, and now has 465, leaving her 35 away from the 500-win mark.

ACES FOR ALLEN
• Junior libero Madi Allen has tallied the second-most aces on the San Diego roster thus far in 2022 with 17, ranking behind only Frohling (18).

• Allen, a native of nearby Temecula, California who attended Great Oak High School, has also tallied 102 digs, which rank third amongst her teammates, as well as 17 assists and two kills.

• She joined USD in the offseason from conference rival BYU, where she totaled 570 digs, 211 assists, 53 points, 47 service aces, and six kills across 163 total sets with the Cougars, earned three WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors and was selected to the All-WCC Second Team as a freshman in 2021, and played in six NCAA Tournament matches, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021.

HOLDING THE STANDARD
• San Diego won 20 games in 2021 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 12th straight year, marking the 25th postseason appearance in USD volleyball history.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
• Over the last 20 seasons, San Diego is 237-45 at home in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, good for a remarkable .840 winning percentage.

• USD is 9-0 at home so far this season

LAST TIME OUT
October 6 - No. 4 San Diego 3, San Francisco 0

• First Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-12
• Second Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-23
• Third Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-8

Notable:
• Lukes led the way for the Toreros with 12 kills, hitting .360 on the evening as she added a pair of service aces, nine digs, and a block assist.

• The San Clemente, California native has had the most kills in each of San Diego's last seven matches.

• Frohling was next with seven kills while hitting .190, five digs, and a match and season-high nine block assists, her most in a single contest since she had 12 against Pepperdine on November 13, 2021.

• Stoner (.273) and Edwards (.111) each added five kills, with Stoner also chipping in three block assists.

• Blackwell had four kills (.083), a dig, a solo block, and eight block assists.

• Blossom tallied a match-high 28 assists, one service ace, six digs, and a kill.

• Benbow added 11 digs, a service ace, and an assist.

• Allen finished with seven digs and two service aces.

• San Diego out-hit the Dons .219 to -.071, out-blocked the visitors 12 to six, and had six service aces to San Francisco's two.

• San Diego's 17-point, 25-8 win in October 6th's third set was USD's largest margin of victory so far this season, besting September 17th's 13-point, 25-12 effort in the fourth and final set of the Toreros' 3-1 win against San Diego State.

October 8 - No. 4 San Diego 3, Santa Clara 0

• First Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-16
• Second Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-18
• Third Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-19

Notable:
• Frohling paced October 8th's match with 14 kills while hitting an even .300, adding one assist, two digs, and two block assists.

• Lukes was just behind with 13 kills of her own, hitting .345 with an assist, a service ace, three digs, and two block assists

• Edwards had nine kills (.333), two digs, and three block assists

• Blackwell led the match with five block assists and chipped in five kills (.444).

• Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) contributed four kills while hitting .400 alongside a dig and two block assists.

• Blossom tallied a match-best 36 assists, also adding eight digs. She has notched 30 assists or more in 15 of the Toreros' 16 matches so far in 2022.

• Benbow led USD with 13 digs and added four assists.

• Pries had three service aces, Benbow and Allen each had two, and Lukes added one.

• USD outhit SCU .340 to .176 on October 8 and out-blocked the visitors seven to six.

• San Diego has now won 12 matches in a row, a stretch that dates back to September 3rd's sweep of No. 8 Louisville at the Cardinal Classic.

• October 8th's sweep of Santa Clara marked the Toreros' fourth consecutive victory in straight sets and 10th such win in 2022.