PROVO, Utah — No. 2 San Diego volleyball (27-1, 18-0 WCC) silenced the Smith Fieldhouse with a decisive win over No. 18 BYU (21-6, 15-3 WCC) on Tuesday night, beating the Cougars 3-1 in a nationally televised matchup to achieve an undefeated West Coast Conference record for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2004.

The Toreros dropped the first set 25-21, then recovered to take the next three in a row by scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 25-22 to secure their 24th consecutive victory.

Graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards paced the match with a season-high 18 kills while hitting .484. Junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell led the USD defense and the match with seven blocks (one solo) as San Diego out-blocked BYU 11.0 to 7.5.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - No. 18 BYU, 25-21

• The Toreros began Tuesday night's match slowly, falling behind 5-0 in the first set before an attack error from the Cougars got them on the board.
• USD, which never tied or led BYU in the frame, cut the deficit to two at 13-11 on a combo block from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling, but got no closer.
• BYU took the frame 25-20 despite San Diego staving off back-to-back set points on a kill from Edwards and a Cougar attack error, pushing the home team ahead 1-0 in the match.

First Set Notables:

• Edwards: Six kills (.400)
• Frohling: Three kills (.222), two digs, and two block assists
• Graduate setter Gabby Blossom: 11 assists and five digs
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: eight digs and an assist
• Blackwell: Two digs (.000) and two block assists

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

• USD bounced back from its first-set defeat by taking a quick 3-2 lead over the Cougars when BYU transfer Madi Allen (junior libero/defensive specialist) notched a service ace.
• The two teams battled back-and-forth up to a 6-6 tie before the Cougars took a 7-6 lead on a San Diego service error, but their advantage would be short-lived.
• After a kill from Edwards tied it at seven, an attack error pushed USD back in front at 8-7. Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner then found her mark with a service ace to make it 9-7, and the Toreros wouldn't trail again.
• USD's lead stretched to seven on a kill from Blackwell at 16-9, then moved to eight points down the stretch when junior outside hitter Kylie Pries recorded a service ace of her own to make it 22-14.
• Another kill from Blackwell brought the frame to set point at 24-17, then a solo block from Frohling sealed a 25-19 win for San Diego in Tuesday night's second set, tying the match at one.

Second Set Notables:

• Edwards: Five kills (.500)
• Frohling: Three kills (.083), one dig, and one solo block
• Blackwell: Two kills and one solo block
• Blossom: Nine assists, one service ace, and three digs
• Benbow: Five digs, an assist, and a service ace
• Pries: One service ace
• Stoner: One kill (1.000), one assist, and one service ace
• Allen: Three digs and a service ace
• USD: Five service aces
• BYU: Zero service aces

Third Set - No. 2 San Diego, 25-22

• USD fell behind 1-0 in the third set but quickly stormed back to take a 4-2 lead on a combo block from Lukes and Stoner.
• Back-and-forth play ensued as a match-high 16 tie scores unfolded across the set's middle stages.
• The Toreros trailed as late as 20-19, then Edwards notched a kill to tie the frame one final time at 20.
• Lukes proceeded to hammer home a kill of her own to put USD up 21-20, forcing a Cougar timeout as she gave her team a lead it would not relinquish.
• USD stayed hot out of the break, securing a 25-22 victory in the third set after Frohling and Lukes notched kills and Frohling recorded a service ace, moving San Diego ahead 2-1 in the match over BYU.

Third Set Notables:

• Lukes: Eight kills (.389), one dig, and two block assists
• Edwards: Four kills (.571)
• Blackwell: Three kills (.750), and two block assists
• Stoner: One kill, one solo block, and one block assist
• Blossom: 16 assists, three digs, and a block assist
• Benbow: Four digs and two assists

Fourth Set - No. 2 San Diego, 25-22

• A kill from Frohling gave USD an early 5-3 lead to begin Tuesday night's fourth and final set before the Cougars rallied to tie it at six.
• San Diego trailed near the midpoint of the set at 10-8, but quickly recovered to tie it on a kill from Stoner and a combo block from Edwards and Blackwell.
• A BYU attack error and bad BYU set followed to put the Toreros up 12-10, and they wouldn't trail again.
• Edwards found her mark with a kill to make it a six-point San Diego advantage at 21-15 before the Cougars mounted one final comeback, cutting USD's lead to 24-22 down the stretch.
• Frohling finished the match with a kill to earn her team a 25-22 win in the fourth and a 3-1 win in the match over No. 18 BYU at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Fourth Set Notables:

• Blackwell: Five kills (.333), and two block assists
• Stoner: Three kills (1.000) and a block assist
• Frohling: Five kills (.400), one dig, and two block assists
• Edwards: Three kills (.500) and a block assist
• Blossom: 14 assists and two digs
• Benbow: Three digs

TORERO TIDBITS

• Edwards led the match with 18 kills (.484), which marked a season-high and her most as a Torero.
• Frohling was next with 13 kills (.205), one service ace, six digs, one solo block, and four block assists.
• Blackwell had 12 kills (.320) to go with a match-high seven total blocks (one solo).
• Lukes set forth nine kills (.048), seven digs, and two block assists.
• Stoner had five kills (.214), one assist, one service ace, one solo block, and two block assists.
• Blossom led the match with 50 assists, also adding a service ace, 13 digs, and a block assist.
• Tuesday night marked the third time so far this season she has set forth 50 assists or more, and was just three off her season-high of 53 she set on August 26 in USD's 3-2 win over No. 6 Pitt.
• Benbow led the match with 20 digs, also adding a service ace and four assists.
• Allen notched eight digs, a service ace, and a kill.
• The Toreros' win over BYU on Tuesday night moved their final 2022 West Coast Conference record to 18-0.
• It's just the second time in program history that USD has gone undefeated in WCC play after the 2004 team went 14-0 (24-5 overall) before advancing to San Diego's first-ever regional semifinal appearance.
• USD has now won a program-record 24 consecutive matches dating back to September 3rd's sweep of No. 8 Ohio State in Louisville as part of the Cardinal Classic.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will await their postseason fate during the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship Selection Show on November 27. The program will be broadcast live on ESPNU and is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. PST.