No. 4 San Diego (13-1, 4-0 WCC)  •  San Francisco (7-8, 0-4 WCC) • Santa Clara

October 6 and 8 | Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100) • San Diego, California

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SAN DIEGO — Winners of its last 10 matches in a row and the recipient of the NCAA D-I Volleyball Committee's No. 3 national ranking (October 2), No. 4 San Diego volleyball (13-1, 4-0 WCC) returns home this week to continue West Coast Conference play with a pair of matchups against San Francisco (7-8, 0-4 WCC) and Santa Clara in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

USD will get things started on Thursday night with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Dons, then will wrap up its weekend by welcoming the Broncos to the JCP for a 12 p.m. contest on Saturday afternoon. Both matches will be streamed live on the WCC Network with Jack Cronin (Thursday) and Braden Surprenant (Saturday) on the calls, and live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

NCAA VOLLEYBALL COMMITTEE PLACES TOREROS THIRD
• The NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee on Sunday 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.

THREE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN THE NATION'S TOP FIVE
• USD held fast at No. 4 in Monday's (October 3)'s AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll for the third 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 is 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, and October 3, 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 three straight weeks (September 19-October 3).

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

• The Toreros have been nationally ranked in each of their last 25 seasons, including eight Top 5 rankings and 23 total placements in the nation's Top 10.

HITTING THEIR STRIDE
• San Diego enters Thursday night's action on a 10-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 two matches (September 29 at Gonzaga and October 1 at Portland), and has won in straight sets in eight of its 14 total contests so far this season.

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

TOUGH COMPETITION
• Five of No. 4 San Diego's 2022 opponents were ranked when USD played them, or are currently ranked in September 26th'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)
• No. 15 BYU - October 21 and November 22

• 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.

REFT NAMED ACTING HEAD COACH VS. SAN FRANCISCO & SANTA CLARA

• Associate head coach Alfred "Alfee" Reft will act as San Diego volleyball's head coach versus San Francisco and Santa Clara on Thursday and Saturday while head coach Jennifer Petrie travels to the East Coast to watch her daughter Jane (a sophomore setter at Boston College) play volleyball.

• Reft, who was named a seasonal assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Team last December, is in his third season as the Toreros' associate head coach.

• He joined the program in the spring of 2020 after two seasons at Illinois, where he helped the Fighting Illini to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a National Semifinal appearance in 2018.

• Prior to Illinois, Reft spent two years in the USA National Team gym where he assisted in daily practices.

• In 2008, Reft was an alternate for the US Men's Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal in Beijing. He was also the designated libero for the U.S. National Team when they won the Gold Medal at the Pan-American Cup in 2008 and played in every match at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand where the USA National Team claimed a Bronze Medal. 

• As a professional, Reft competed for seven years with clubs in Budva, Montenegro (2007-08), Lisbon, Portugal (2008-10) and Montpellier, France (2012-13).

• A standout libero for Hawai'i from 2004 to 2006, Reft was named an AVCA First-Team All-American as well as Asics/Volleyball Magazine Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 after totaling 272 digs and set a new Hawai'i single-season record with 2.67 digs per set.

• A native of Oxnard, Calif., Reft graduated the University of Hawai'i with a bachelor's degree in English in 2006 and is married to Matthew Ryan Pest.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAN FRANCISCO
• The Toreros are 59-19 (.766) against the Dons all-time, and have won each of their last 14 matches with San Francisco. The two teams last played on October 30, 2021, a 3-0 USD sweep in the JCP.

• San Diego has swept USF 11 times in that stretch, which dates back to September 26, 2015.

• USD is 33-5 at home against San Francisco and is undefeated (23-0) against the Dons at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

• The Toreros last lost to USF on October 30, 2014 — a tough 3-0 sweep at War Memorial Gymnasium.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SANTA CLARA
The Toreros are 43-32 against the Broncos all-time, and have also won each of their last 14 matches with Santa Clara. The Two teams last played on October 28, 2021, a 3-0 USD sweep in the JCP.

• San Diego has swept SCU eight times in that stretch, which dates back to September 24, 2015.

• USD is 22-13 at home against Santa Clara and is 15-6 against the Broncos at the Jenny Craig 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 .166 hitting percentage that leads the WCC and ranks 31st nationally.

• Blackwell has been at the center of USD's dominant defense this season, leading San Diego with 1.35 blocks per set, which ranks 28th nationally.
•Her 69 total blocks (12 solo) rank third in the conference and 49th nationally.

• The San Diego, California native (La Jolla High School)'s dominance hasn't been limited to defense — she's totaled 85 kills through 14 matches so far in 2022 and is averaging 1.67 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 45 blocks (five solo) through 13 matches for an even 1.00 blocks per set average through 45 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 554 assists, 140 digs, and a conference-high 10.86 assists per set through all 14 of the Toreros' matches thus far, which also ranks 10th nationally.

• Blossom played a central role in San Diego's ninth and tenth consecutive wins this weekend on the road, tallying a total of 80 assists (13.33 A/S), three service aces, and two kills across back-to-back sweeps at Gonzaga and Portland.

• She racked up 48 assists on Thursday night against the Bulldogs (16.00 A/S), then added 32 assists and a trio of service aces on Saturday afternoon against the Pilots (10.67 A/S).

• Under her direction this week, the Toreros hit .505 and .341 with a combined 93 kills in their two matches and had just 18 attack errors.

• She has recorded 30 or more assists in each of the Toreros' 14 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 24 kills across two wins at Gonzaga and Portland on Thursday and Saturday.

• The San Clemente, California native got things started on Friday against the Bulldogs by leading the match with 15 kills, marking the sixth consecutive match in which she had done so as she hit a remarkable .542 in the contest for a total of 16.5 points in USD's 3-0 sweep.

• Lukes picked up right where she left off on Saturday afternoon at Portland, hitting .348 for 11.0 total points as she tied with teammate Grace Frohling for the match high of nine kills in a second consecutive San Diego sweep.

•For the season Lukes leads the Toreros with a total of 177 kills and an average of 3.54 kills per set, marks that rank fifth in the WCC.

FROHLING FLOURISHING, HITS 1,000 CAREER KILLS
• 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. She reached the 1,000 kill mark on Saturday at Portland and currently has 1,001 for her career.

• The Los Angeles, California native leads her team with 18 service aces and ranks second on the USD roster with 152 kills (one kill behind teammate Breana Edwards' 153) and 2.98 kills per set while hitting .339, racking up 10 or more kills in eight of San Diego's 14 matches so far.

• On the defensive side of things, she's chipped in 36 blocks (four solo), which rank third amongst her teammates, and 42 digs, which rank sixth.

•Frohling combined for 17 kills over the weekend at Gonzaga and Portland, hitting a robust .441 across six sets for an average of 2.83 K/S alongside a trio of service aces.

• In that stretch she also added seven digs, two assists, and a solo block.

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 153 kills through 14 matches (50 sets) so far at USD after joining the team from Indiana in the offseason. Her kill total (153) and kills per set average (3.06) both rank second on the San Diego roster and are seventh in the WCC.

• The Rainier, Oregon native continued her strong start over the weekend at Gonzaga and Portland, setting forth 17 kills while hitting .306.

Edwards got the weekend started with nine kills against the Bulldogs while hitting .368, then wrapped up the Toreros' action with eight kills while hitting .235 against the Pilots.

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, adding 13 digs across two matches at Gonzaga and Portland.

• The Frisco, Texas native set forth six against the Bulldogs on Thursday, and seven against the Pilots on Saturday, also chipping in a pair of service aces and five assists.

• For the season she's totaled a team-high 179 digs and 3.51 digs per set, has 34 assists, and has chipped in 11 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 1,344 career digs, which stands alone as the third-most in USD volleyball history.

• Benbow's six digs on Thursday 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 Saturday 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 121 more she will pass Jackie Bernardin's second-place total of 1,464, and with 146 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 14 matches as a redshirt senior in 2022..............179 digs (team-high)

Total................................................................................................... 1,344 digs

SAN DIEGO VOLLEYBALL - CAREER DIGS
1. Hunter Jennings.....................................................................1489 (2013-16)
2. Jackie Bernardin.....................................................................1464 (2003-05)
3. Annie Benbow..........................................................1344 (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)

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 235-45 at home in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, good for a remarkable .839 winning percentage.

• USD is 7-0 at home so far this season

LAST TIME OUT
September 29 - No. 4 San Diego 3, Gonzaga 0
• First Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-18
• Second Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-18
• Third Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-15

Notable:
• Lukes paced the match with 15 kills while hitting a robust .542, making her one of four Toreros to hit above .500 in the match as she added five digs and three block assists.

• She was followed by Blackwell with 11 (.556), who also chipped in a dig, a solo block, and three block assists.

• Frohling and Edwards were next with nine kills apiece while hitting .389 and .368, respectively.

• Frohling also contributed an assist, a team-high two service aces, five digs, and a solo block.

• Stoner had eight digs while hitting .727, chipping in three digs and three block assists along the way.

• Blossom totaled a match-high 48 assists alongside five digs, three block assists, and a kill.

• She has recorded 30 assists or more in each of USD's first 13 games this season to begin her San Diego career.

• Pries and Allen both had a single service ace.

• Benbow notched six digs on Thursday night to give her 1,337 for her USD career, which marks the fifth most in San Diego volleyball history.

• She passed LaManda Mounts (1994-97), who previously held the fifth-most digs in San Diego history with 1,334.

• The Toreros out-hit the Bulldogs .505 to .182 on Thursday night and out-blocked Gonzaga eight to two.

• Thursday night's win over Gonzaga (1:17) was USD's shortest match of 2022, coming in just under the Toreros' one hour and 19 minute sweep of UConn at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on September 9.

• San Diego has now won 54 straight matches against Gonzaga and is 60-9 (.869) against the Bulldogs all-time.

October 1 - No. 4 San Diego 3, Portland 0
• First Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-13
• Second Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-13
• Third Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-18

Notable:
• Frohling recorded her 1,000th career kill on Saturday afternoon after finding her mark eight times against the Pilots. She now has 1,001 total kills across three-plus years, 90 matches, and 325 sets in a San Diego uniform.

• Lukes led the way with nine kills while hitting .348, tying the match-high as she added three digs, two block assists, and a service ace.

• She was followed by Frohling, who tallied eight (.500), adding two digs, a block assist, a service ace, and an assist.

• Edwards matched Frohling's kill total with eight of her own alongside a dig and a block assist.

• Blackwell was next with five while hitting at a .200 clip, followed by Goddard and Stoner, who each added four while hitting .200 and .600, respectively.

• Stoner, the reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Week, also chipped in two block assists, making her the only player besides Lukes to have more than one on Saturday.

• Blossom had 32 assists, a tied-for-match-high three service aces, a team-high 12 digs, and a kill. She has recorded 30 assists or more in each of San Diego's first 14 games as she begins her USD career.

• Benbow had seven digs, two service aces, and two assists, Allen tied the match-high with three service aces and five digs of her own, and freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett notched four digs and two assists.

• San Diego out-hit Portland .341 to 150 and racked up 11 service aces to the Pilots' two.