MALIBU, Calif. — No. 2 San Diego volleyball (26-1, 17-0 WCC) on Saturday clinched the 12th West Coast Conference Championship in program history, beating Pepperdine (18-10, 9-8 WCC) 3-1 at the Firestone Fieldhouse to bring home the WCC trophy for the first time since 2019.

The Toreros dropped the first set 25-22, bounced back for a 25-19 win in the second, and rallied for 25-20 wins in both the third and fourth sets to take the match.

Redshirt senior Katie Lukes paced the match with 16 kills while hitting .452, helping USD out-hit Pepperdine .307 to .180. Led by a tied-for-career-high 11 blocks from sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner, USD out-blocked the Waves by a remarkable 17.0 to 3.0 margin.

San Diego's 2022 WCC Championship secures the Toreros a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season, and will mark the 26th postseason appearance in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - Pepperdine, 25-22

• The Toreros trailed by as many as five early on in Saturday's first set before a service ace from graduate setter Gabby Blossom and a kill from junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell tied it at 12.
• Back-and-forth play ensued down the stretch before the Waves again jumped ahead.
• A service ace from junior outside hitter Kylie Pries brought USD within one at 21-20, then a pair of Pepperdine errors pushed San Diego ahead at 22-21.
• USD failed to score again down the stretch, suffering a 25-22 defeat in the first set after the Waves closed out the frame on a 4-0 run.

Second Set - No. 2 San Diego, 25-19

• The Toreros rebounded from their first-set loss by beginning Saturday's second set on a 5-1 run, doing so with three kills from Blackwell, a Pepperdine error, and a kill from graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards.
• USD maintained that advantage throughout the entirety of the second set, stretching it to seven midway through on another Blackwell kill that made it 14-7.
• A kill from sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner and a service ace from junior setter Alex Hoglund kept the San Diego lead at seven down the stretch at 19-12 and 21-14 before the Waves mounted one final push.
• Pepperdine pulled within four points as the set wound down to make it 23-19, but back-to-back kills from Edwards sealed a 25-19 win in the second for San Diego to tie the match at one.

Third Set - No. 2 San Diego, 25-20

• A service ace from junior libero/defensive specialist Madi Allen capped a hot start to the third set for USD, one that saw them jump ahead 2-1.
• The San Diego lead stretched to four points as the set unfolded at 8-4 on a kill from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling, but the Waves quickly reeled the Toreros back in to tie the set at 10.
• USD briefly trailed through the midpoint of the third set but recovered to take a 16-15 lead on a kill from redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes, a lead it would not relinquish.
• Three kills from Edwards and one from Frohling followed to earn San Diego a 25-20 win over the Waves in set three to push it ahead 2-1 in the match.

Fourth Set - No. 2 San Diego, 25-20

• Saturday's fourth and final set began with another back-and-forth battle, one that saw San Diego trail by as many as two early on.
• A kill from Edwards leveled the score at eight, then a kill from Frohling a point later kept the score tied at 9-9.
• A pair of Pepperdine errors followed to push the score to 11-9 in favor of the Toreros, an advantage they held until the Waves battled back to take a late 20-19 lead.
• After falling behind, San Diego responded by finishing the frame on a blistering 6-0 run, securing a 25-20 win in the set and a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine in the match with kills from Stoner and Lukes, a block from Stoner and Frohling, and a block from Lukes and Stoner.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes led Saturday's match with 16 kills while hitting .432, also adding two assists, five digs, and two block assists.
• Edwards was just behind with 14 kills (.190), a dig, and a block assist.
• Blackwell had 11 kills (.455) and five block assists.
• Frohling also recorded 11 kills (.300), also adding two service aces, four digs, and six block assists.
• Stoner tallied four kills (.091) while leading the match with 11 block assists, which tied her career high. That career high of 11 was set during San Diego's matchup with Pepperdine on November 13, 2021.
• Blossom notched 47 assists, one service ace, one kill, one solo block, and four block assists.
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow led the match with 13 digs.
• Freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett tied her career high with seven digs, followed by junior libero/defensive specialist Madi Allen, who had six digs and a service ace.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are set to conclude their 2022 regular season schedule on the road next week, traveling to Provo, Utah to take on BYU. First serve on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse is set for 7:00 p.m. PST. The match is set to be televised on ESPNU.