COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 25 San Diego volleyball will begin its 2022 season at the Texas A&M Invitational this weekend, taking on No. 6 Pitt (Friday), the Aggies (Saturday), and Hawaii (Sunday) at Reed Arena.

The Toreros will square off against the Panthers on Friday at 12 p.m. PST, will take on host Texas A&M at 11 a.m. PST on Saturday, and will round out their opening weekend with a matchup against Hawaii at 8 a.m. PST on Sunday.

Fans and media can follow all three matches via live statistics on 12thMan.com. Saturday's match will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Shelby Coppedge (analyst) on the call.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PITT
• San Diego is 2-0 against the Panthers all-time, with the two programs' previous meetings coming in September of 2007 (a 3-0 USD win at the Jenny Craig Pavilion) and September of 2004 (a 3-0 USD win in Boulder, Colorado).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TEXAS A&M
• The Toreros are 1-1 against the Aggies all-time, with the two programs' previous meetings coming in September of 2014 (a 3-1 USD loss in Los Angeles, California) and September of 2008 (a 3-0 USD win in San Diego).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. HAWAII
• USD is 3-5 against the Rainbow Wahine all-time, with the two programs' most recent meeting coming in September of 2021, a 3-0 San Diego win in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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.

POLL POSITION
• USD checked in at No. 25 in August 15th's AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the 25th consecutive season in which the Toreros have been ranked nationally.

TOUGH COMPETITION
• Six of San Diego's 2022 opponents were ranked in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Those teams are…
• No. 6 Pitt - August 26
• No. 4 Louisville - September 2
• No. 7 Ohio State  - September 3
• No. 22 Utah - September 10
• No. 12 UCLA - September 16
• No. 10 BYU - October 21 and November 22

FOUR EARN WCC PRESEASON HONORS, USD PICKED TO FINISH SECOND
• Four Toreros were named to the WCC Preseason Team and No. 25 San Diego volleyball was picked to finish second in the 2022 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, the West Coast Conference announced on Wednesday morning.

• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow, junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell, senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling, and redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes earned preseason team honors, while No. 25 USD took home 73 points and three first-place votes to finish just behind preseason favorite No. 10 BYU (79 points, seven first-place votes) in the poll.

• No. 25 San Diego's four selections to the WCC Preseason Team were tied with the Cougars for the most in the conference.

• Benbow set forth a dynamic campaign last fall in her senior season, earning an All-WCC First Team selection alongside a WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. She started all 28 of the Toreros' matches at libero while appearing in 103 sets, led the team with 433 digs and a USD-best 4.20 digs per set, and ranked second in the West Coast Conference in total digs and digs per set. The Frisco, Texas native enters the 2022 season with 1,165 career digs, which ranks 10th all-time at USD and just 324 off the San Diego record.

• Blackwell was among the WCC's most fearsome defenders in 2021, leading both USD and the West Coast Conference with 133 total blocks (29 solo) and 1.30 blocks per set. She appeared in all 28 of the Toreros' matches, starting 27 of them (102 sets played) and finished 19th in the nation in blocks per set (1.30) and 43rd in total blocks (133). Though the San Diego, California native was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions, including back-to-back weeks (September 13, October 11 and 18), her prowess wasn't limited to only defense — she added 133 kills and hit .297 in 2021, marks that were fourth and third-best on the USD roster, respectively.

• Frohling continued her dominant college career last fall, earning a invitation to train with the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team after being named to the AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team, an All-WCC First Team selection, a WCC Player of the Week (October 18), and a WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. She started all 28 of USD's matches in 2021 and played in 103 sets, leading the Toreros with 407 kills (3.95 kills per set) and 35 service aces alongside 101 total blocks and 175 digs. The Los Angeles, California native was second on the USD roster in total blocks and third in digs, and finished third in the WCC in both total kills and kills per set.

• Lukes proved to be one of the West Coast Conference's most potent offensive players in 2021, racking up 337 kills in 25 matches, the most of any WCC player who appeared in 25 matches or less. Named to the AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team and an All-WCC First and Academic Team selection after the season, she finished second on the USD roster with 337 total kills and an average of 3.70 kills per set, which ranked fifth in the WCC. The San Clemente, California native recorded 15 or more kills in ten games, reached the 20-kill mark on three occasions, and notched at least seven kills in every match she appeared in last season.

BIG-TIME TRANSFERS
• San Diego added three players from the transfer portal this offseason, each of whom hail from high-profile programs.

Those players are…
Gabby Blossom | Setter | Graduate Student | Penn State
• Played four seasons with the Nittany Lions from 2018-2021, totaling 2,085 assists, 865 digs, and 76 aces across 382 sets in Happy Valley

• Earned one AVCA All-America honor (third team in 2019) an All-Northeast Region Team honor, two second-team All-Big Ten selections (2019 and 2020), four Big Ten Setter of the Week awards, and two Academic All-Big Ten honors

• Attended high school at St. Joseph's Academy in Saint Louis, where she was voted the 2018 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and was one of three finalists for the National Gatorade Player of the Year

Breana Edwards | Outside Hitter | Graduate Student | Indiana
• Stands at 6-foot-3, joins the Toreros after four illustrious seasons with the Hoosiers from 2018-2021 that saw her compile 1,266 kills, 181 total blocks, and 27 service aces across 108 total matches

• Earned several national and Big Ten honors while in Bloomington, including a selection to the USA Collegiate National Team's Gold Roster in 2019, Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2019, and a pair of Academic All-Big Ten honors (2019 and 2020)

• Is a native of Rainier, Oregon and, played at Rainier High School, where she was named a PrepVolleyball.Com Senior Ace, a MaxPreps All-America, and was a four-time Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) All-State Honoree. In addition to volleyball, Edwards also lettered for three years in track and field (high jump)

Madi Allen | Libero | Junior | BYU
• Is a native of nearby Temecula, California, joins the Toreros after two seasons with West Coast Conference rival BYU from 2020-2021 that saw her total 570 digs, 211 assists, 53 points, 47 service aces, and six kills across 163 total sets in Provo

• Earned three WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors with the Cougars, 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

THEY'RE BACK
• San Diego returns 11 letterwinners from the 2021 squad that went 20-8 and reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament, including All-WCC Second Team selection Kylie Pries and All-WCC Freshman Team selection Haylee Stoner.

THE ROSTER
• The Toreros' 2022 roster features four freshmen, three sophomores, four juniors, one redshirt junior, one senior, three redshirt seniors, and two graduate students   

LOCAL TALENT
• Seven Toreros hail from the state of California, and three attended local San Diego-area high schools

Those players are…
• Leyla Blackwell - San Diego, CA | La Jolla High School
• Haylee Stoner - San Marcos, CA | Mission Hills High School
• Madi Allen - Temecula, CA | Great Oak High School

THE SCHEDULE
• USD's 2022 schedule features 14 home games at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, 11 on the road, and three neutral site contests, with 18 West Coast Conference matchups plus 10 non-conference games against some of the nation's most competitive volleyball programs. 

2022 Schedule Notes…
• 28 total matches
• 14 home matches
• 11 road matches
• 3 neutral site matches
• 5 home non-conference matches
• 9 home WCC matches
• 3 matches in Texas
• 2 matches in Kentucky
• 20 matches in California
• 1 match in Washington
• 1 match in Oregon
• 1 match in Utah