No. 2 San Diego (21-1, 11-0 WCC)  •  Santa Clara (8-16, 4-8 WCC) •  San Francisco

November 3 | Leavey Center (4,200) • Santa Clara, California

November 5 | War Memorial Gym (5,300) • San Francisco, California

Live Stream  •  WCC Network | Live Statistics  • SantaClaraBroncos.com/USFDons.com

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


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After matching the highest national ranking in program history on Monday, No. 2 San Diego volleyball (20-1, 11-0 WCC) will take its 17-match win streak back on the road this week, traveling to Santa Clara (8-16, 4-8 WCC) and San Francisco for a pair of matches as it continues West Coast Conference play.

The Toreros will get things started on Thursday night at the Leavey Center with a 6 p.m. matchup against the Broncos, then will wrap up their weekend at War Memorial Gym on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. matchup opposite the Dons. Both matches will be streamed live on the WCC Network, and live statistics will be provided on SantaClaraBroncos.com and USFDons.com.

THEY'VE NEVER BEEN RANKED HIGHER THAN THIS
• USD reached the highest national ranking in program history on Monday afternoon, checking in at No. 2 in the AVCA Division I Women's Coaches Poll for the second time ever after winning its 17th consecutive match last Saturday.

• The placement is up from the No. 3 position USD moved into on October 24 after sitting at No. 4 for five straight weeks from September 19 to October 17.

• The Toreros have been ranked No. 2 just once before: on September 16, 2013. USD won the West Coast Conference that year and was one of four teams in program history to reach an NCAA Regional Semifinal before finishing with a final record of 26-4 (16-2 WCC).

• 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. The Toreros have been nationally ranked in each of their last 25 seasons, including 12 Top 5 rankings and 27 total placements in the nation's Top 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 Four (Sept. 19)  ...................................................................................................................................No. 4
Week Five (Sept. 26)  .................................................................................................................. .................No. 4
Week Six (October 3) ....................................................................................................................................No. 4
Week Seven (October 10) .............................................................................................................................No. 4
Week Eight (October 17) ........................................................................................................... ..................No. 4
Week Nine (October 24)...............................................................................................................................No. 3
Week Ten (October 31)................................................................................................................................No. 2

USD'S HIGHEST ALL-TIME AVCA TOP 25 RANKINGS
1.  No. 2 - Current Ranking - October 31, 2022 and September 16, 2013

2.  No. 3 - October 24, 2022

3.  No. 4 - Sept. 19, Sept. 26, Oct. 3, Oct. 10, and October 17, 2022 (Five times)

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

5.  No. 6 - September 26, 2016

6.  No. 7 - September 19, 2016

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

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

9. No. 10 - September 12, 2016

NCAA VOLLEYBALL COMMITTEE PLACES TOREROS FIFTH
• The NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee on October 30 released its Top 10 teams for results through October 29, 2022, placing San Diego fifth behind Texas, Louisville, Nebraska, and Pitt.

• 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 30
1. Texas
2. Louisville
3. Nebraska
4. Pitt
5. San Diego
6. Ohio State
7. Wisconsin
8. Stanford
9. Minnesota
10. Oregon
• 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.

INFERNO STATUS
• San Diego enters Thursday night's action on a 17-game win streak, a stretch that dates back to September 3rd's 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Ohio State at the Cardinal Classic.

• The Toreros are now just two wins away from tying the longest win streak in program history (19), which was achieved in both 1994 and 2004.

• USD has swept each of its last nine matches (September 29 at Gonzaga, October 1 at Portland, October 6 versus San Francisco, October 8 versus Santa Clara, October 13 at Pacific, October 15 at Saint Mary's, October 21 vs. No 17 BYU, October 27 vs. Portland, and October 29 vs. Gonzaga), and has won in straight sets in 15 of its 21 total contests so far this season. Nine of San Diego's 11  WCC wins in 2022 have been sweeps.

• The Toreros' 25-8 win over the Dons in the third set on October 6 marked San Diego's largest margin of victory so far this season (17 points), besting USD's 14-point, 25-11 win in the second set of its sweep of Saint Mary's in Moraga on October 15.

• San Diego, which last dropped a set on September 24 in its 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount, has won 28 sets in a row entering Thursday night's action.

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*
• October 13 at Pacific*
• October 15 at Saint Mary's
• October 21 vs. No. 17 BYU*
• October 27 vs. Portland*
• October 29 vs. Gonzaga*

*Denotes WCC opponent

RANKED TEAMS ON USD'S 2022 SCHEDULE
• 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. 17 BYU - October 21 (3-0 USD win)

• No. 2 San Diego has one match remaining on its schedule against a team currently in the AVCA Top 25 — November 22 at No. 18 BYU, which marks the Toreros' final contest of the 2022 regular season.

• 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.

• USD is slated to play at Pepperdine — which has been nationally ranked on multiple occasions and received 14 votes in October 24th's poll — on November 19.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SANTA CLARA
• The Toreros are 44-32 (.578) against the Broncos all-time, and have won each of their last 15 matches with Santa Clara.

• The two teams last played on October 8, 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 25-13 against the Broncos on the road and has won eight straight matches in the Leavey Center. San Diego last dropped a road matchup with SCU on November 1st, 2014, a 3-2 Torero loss in the Bay Area.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAN FRANCISCO
• The Toreros are 60-19 (.759) against the Dons all-time, and have won each of their last 15 matches with San Francisco. The two teams last played on October 6, a 3-0 USD sweep in the JCP. That contest saw San Diego notch its largest margin of victory in a single set so far this season, a 17-point, 25-8 decision in the third and final frame.

• San Diego has swept USF 12 times in that stretch, which dates back to September 26, 2015.

• USD is 25-12 against San Francisco on the road and last lost an away matchup to USF on October 30, 2014 — a tough 3-0 sweep at War Memorial Gymnasium.

OFFENSIVE PRECISION
• Led by five players hitting .280 or better, San Diego volleyball has posted a strong .290 team hitting percentage through 21 games so far in 2022, a mark that ranks 8th nationally.

• Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner leads all USD hitters with a .359 average, followed by junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (.314 and senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling (.314), redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes (.302), and redshirt senior Gabby Goddard (.276).

• That group has combined for 736 of the Toreros' 982 total kills so far this season.

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 9th nationally.

• Blackwell has been at the center of USD's dominant defense this season, leading San Diego with 1.38 blocks per set, which ranks 17th nationally.

• After adding five last week in a pair of sweeps against Portland and Gonzaga, she now has 99 total blocks (16 solo) so far in 2022, which rank second in the WCC and 66th nationally.

• The San Diego, California native (La Jolla High School)'s dominance hasn't been limited to defense — she's totaled 120 kills through 21 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 60 blocks (six solo) through 20 matches for a 0.91 blocks per set average in 66 frames that ranks second on the USD roster behind only Blackwell.

• She too has provided well-rounded play. Her .359 hitting percentage leads USD and her 109 total kills rank fifth.

• 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 and was a member of the All-WCC Freshman Team in 2021.

BLOSSOM SETS THE TONE, REACHES 4,000 CAREER ASSISTS
• 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 804 assists, 186 digs, and a conference-high 11.17 assists per set through all 21 of the Toreros' matches thus far, which also ranks 11th nationally.

• Blossom was once again at the center of San Diego's success last week, directing the Torero offense to a pair of sweeps against Portland and Gonzaga as she racked up 85 assists, 14 digs, two block assists, one service ace, and one kills cross both matches.

• With her at setter across six sets opposite the Pilots and Bulldogs, USD hit .395 as a group and recorded 102 kills to just 23 errors.

• Her efforts last Thursday (45 assists) and Saturday (40 assists) represented the eighth and ninth times in 21 San Diego matches she has set forth 40 or more assists.

• The St. Louis, Missouri native's 10th assist on October 27 marked her 4,000th career assist across 382 sets at Penn State and 66 more in San Diego, making her just the third player to reach the 4,000-assist milestone while wearing a San Diego uniform behind Katie Lindquist (1996-1999, 4,402), who ranks second all-time in Torero history, and Lindsey Sherburne (2002-2005, 5,961), San Diego's all-time assists leader.

• Blossom, who has tallied 30 assists or more in 19 of San Diego's 21 matches in 2022, also is tied for second on the USD roster with 21 service aces.

BLOSSOM'S ACCOLADES IN 2022
August 28..............................................................Texas A&M Invitational MVP
September 4...........................................Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
September 12..................................................................USD Invitational MVP
October 27.............................................................Reached 4,000 career assists

LUKES LEADS THE WAY
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes continued to anchor the San Diego offense last weekend, erupting for 32 kills across back-to-back sweeps of Portland and Gonzaga that marked the Toreros' 16th and 17th consecutive wins.

• The San Clemente, California native got her week started with 15 kills on Thursday against the Pilots, hitting at a strong .400 clip alongside nine digs and a pair of block assists.

• Lukes then finished the week with one of her finest performances to date this season, racking up a match-high 17 kills against the Bulldogs while hitting a remarkable .667 with three service aces.

• Her fifth kill last Saturday gave her 1,200 for her career, and she enters Thursday night's action with 1,212.

• For the season Lukes leads the Toreros with 279 total kills and 3.93 kills per set, marks that rank fifth and third in the WCC, respectively.

• She has also added 13 service aces, eight assists, 34 blocks (two solo), and 128 digs in 2022, which ranks fourth on the USD roster and is the most of any non-setter/libero/defensive specialist.

• Lukes has now either led or been tied for the team lead in kills in 11 of the Toreros' last 12 matches. The lone match in which she did not lead USD in kills she was just one point shy of teammate Grace Frohling (October 8 vs. Santa Clara).

• A 2021 All-WCC First Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region selection, she was named the WCC Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career and the second time this season on October 24.

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 24 service aces and ranks third on the USD roster with 214 kills (2.97 kills per set) while hitting .314, racking up 10 or more kills in 10 of San Diego's 21 matches so far.

• On the defensive side of things, she's chipped in 55 blocks (four solo), which rank third amongst her teammates, and 61 digs, which rank sixth.

• She set forth a characteristically well-rounded performance last week against Portland and Gonzaga, combining for 19 kills (.256), two service aces, two assists, five digs, and three block assists across six sets.

• Frohling is a three-time All-WCC First Team selection (2019, 2020-21, 2021), was named to the AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team in 2021, and was selected to the 2022 Women's College National Team this past offseason.

• She is one of a conference-high six Toreros to earn a WCC Player of the Week honor this season (August 29, Offensive).

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 221 kills through 21 matches (70 sets) so far at USD after joining the team from Indiana in the offseason. Her kill total (221) and kills per set average (3.16) both rank second on the San Diego roster, behind only two-time WCC Offensive Player of the Week Katie Lukes.

• The Rainier, Oregon native continued her strong season last week against Portland and Gonzaga, combining for 23 kills while hitting .353 across six sets.

• She now has 1,487 kills for her career across 108 matches at Indiana and 21 more at USD, putting her just 13 kills away from 1,500.

• Only LaManda Mounts, (1,503, 1994-1997), Devon Forster (1,886, 2001-2004), and Petia Yanchulova (1,892, 1996-1999) have reached 1,500 while wearing a USD uniform.

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, entering this weekend's action with 1,431 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 33 more she will pass Jackie Bernardin's second-place total of 1,464, and with 58 more she will pass Hunter Jennings' San Diego-record total of 1,489 (2013-2016) to become USD's all-time digs leader.

• The Frisco, Texas native has totaled 266 digs and 3.69 digs per set so far this season, marks that lead the Toreros and rank fifth and fourth in the West Coast Conference, respectively.

• Benbow, who has racked up 15 or more digs on seven occasions so far this season, has also recorded 16 service aces, which rank fifth on the USD roster.

• On October 24 she earned the first WCC Defensive Player of the Week honor of her career after setting forth 14 digs (4.67 D/S) in USD's sweep of No. 17 BYU at the JCP.

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 21 matches as a RS senior in 2022……....266 digs (team-high)

Total...................................................................................................1,431 digs

SAN DIEGO VOLLEYBALL - CAREER DIGS
1. Hunter Jennings....................................................................1489 (2013-16)
2. Jackie Bernardin....................................................................1464 (2003-05)
3. Annie Benbow………………………………...........................1431 (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 (1,212) needs 16 more to move into the top 10, while Frohling (1,044) needs 165.

• Blossom hit the 4,000 assist mark last Thursday night against Portland and now has 4,035 for her career, making her one of just three players to reach that milestone while wearing a USD 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 1,487 after recording 221 so far this season and needs just 13 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 versus Hawaii, and now has 470, leaving her 30 away from the 500-win mark.

ACES FOR ALLEN
• Junior libero Madi Allen is tied for the second-most aces on the San Diego roster thus far in 2022 with 21, equal with Blossom's total and behind only Frohling (24).

• Allen, a native of nearby Temecula, California who attended Great Oak High School, has also tallied 130 digs, which rank third amongst her teammates, as well as 20 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.

• On October 21 she matched up with her former team for the first time and set forth a dynamic performance, totaling a season-high 12 digs and a pair of assists in San Diego's sweep of No. 17 BYU.

LAST TIME OUT - October 27:
SAN DIEGO — (Jenny Craig Pavilion) - No. 3 San Diego 3, Portland 0
• First Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-21

• Second Set - No. 3 San Diego, 26-24

• Third Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-17

Notable:
• Lukes led the Toreros in kills for the third consecutive match, tallying 15 as she hit an even .400 alongside nine digs and two block assists.

• Edwards was just behind with 14 of her own (.294), also adding a pair of digs and a single block assist.

• Frohling did a little bit of everything on Friday, notching 11 kills (.207) to go with an assist, two service aces, four digs, and a block assist.

• Blackwell provided six kills (.333) while anchoring the San Diego defense by tying the match-high with three block assists.

• Stoner hit .000 but added three kills to go with three digs and a block assist.

• Blossom set forth 45 assists, her most since September 29 at Gonzaga, when she had 48. The graduate transfer (Penn State) also added a service ace and 10 digs — more digs than any Portland player compiled on Thursday night.

• Blossom is just the third player to reach the 4,000-assist milestone 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.

• Benbow racked up a match-high 13 digs, also chipping in a trio of assists.

• Allen led the match and tied her season high with three service aces, also contributing six digs.

LAST TIME OUT - October 29:
SAN DIEGO — Jenny Craig Pavilion - No. 3 San Diego 3, Gonzaga 0
• First Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-12

• Second Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-11

• Third Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-14

Notable:
• Lukes led the Toreros in kills for the fourth consecutive match, notching 17 while hitting a robust .667 alongside a match-high three service aces, seven digs, and two block assists.

• She now has 1,212 kills in her four-plus year USD career.

• Blackwell was next with 10 of her own while hitting .692, also chipping in an assist and a block assist.

• Edwards posted nine kills (.471) alongside one dig, one solo block, and two assists.

• Frohling had eight kills to go with an assist, a dig, and two block assists.

• Stoner recorded four kills while hitting .800 with two service aces, a dig, and a game-high four block assists.

• Blossom paced the match with 40 assists, the ninth time in 21 San Diego matches she has had 40 or more. She has recorded 30 assists or more in 19 of the Toreros' 21 matches so far in 2022, including a season-high 53 in USD's 3-2 win over No. 6 Pitt on August 26.

• Benbow had 15 digs, a service ace, and four assists on Saturday. With 1,431 career digs in four-plus seasons as a Torero, she is now just 58 digs away from Hunter Jennings' all-time USD record of 1,489.

• With 33 more, she will pass Jackie Bernardin's second-place mark of 1,464.
Allen posted four digs and an assist.

• San Diego has now won 17 consecutive matches, including nine straight sweeps.