COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A balanced offensive attack and a dynamic defensive performance from Leyla Blackwell on Sunday morning led No. 25 San Diego volleyball (3-0, 0-0 WCC) to its third straight win, taking down Hawaii (0-3, 0-0 Big West) at Reed Arena in straight sets to secure a perfect performance at the Texas A&M Invitational.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - (No. 25 San Diego 25, Hawaii 18)

• A service ace from graduate setter Gabby Blossom got USD out to a hot start, sparking a 10-0 run that earned the Toreros an early 11-1 lead.
• The run featured kills from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling and junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell, a combo block from senior outside hitter Katie Lukes and Blackwell, and back-to-back service aces from junior libero Madi Allen.
• The Rainbow Wahine cut the deficit to just two later in the set at 17-15, but kills from Frohling, graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards, and a combo block from Edwards and Blackwell ran the USD lead back out to seven at 22-15.
• Another Blackwell kill then concluded the frame, earning San Diego a 25-18 victory in the opening set.

Second Set - (No. 25 San Diego 25, Hawaii 21)

• San Diego again jumped out to a fast start in the second frame, pushing its lead to 6-3 with a kill from Edwards.
• The USD advantage remained between three to five points throughout the middle stages of the set before another kill from Edwards extended it to six at 17-11.
• The Rainbow Wahine got as close as four down the stretch but two attack errors and a service error from UH sealed a 25-11 victory for San Diego in the second frame, earning the Toreros a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Third Set - (No. 25 San Diego 25, Hawaii 23)

• The Toreros' third set of the match once again proved to be the most competitive on Sunday, this time beginning with a flurry of points from Hawaii that earned the Rainbow Wahine an early six-point, 12-6 lead over USD.
• San Diego quickly mounted a comeback, however, ripping off a 5-0 run to pull within one at 12-11 after a kill from Blossom, a solo block from Blackwell, a pair of errors from UH, and a service ace from Blossom.
• Hawaii answered with another three points to reestablish its lead at 15-12, but the Toreros again were able to reel in the Rainbow Wahine, completing the comeback to tie it at 15 with a combo block from Blackwell and Edwards, a service ace from Allen, a kill from Blackwell, and a combo block from Blackwell and Frohling.
• The two teams then traded points up to an 18-18 tie before Frohling put San Diego ahead for good at 19-18 with a kill.
• UH pulled within one at 24-23 but would get no closer after USD held strong for the 25-23 decision in the set and a 3-0 sweep in the match.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Frohling led the way for the Toreros with 10 kills, an assist, four digs, and two blocks while hitting .259.
• Edwards was just behind with nine kills, a dig, and three blocks.
• Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) turned in another strong performance, adding seven kills while hitting .462 and a dig.
• Lukes matched Stoner's kill total with seven of her own, also chipping in four digs and a block.
• Blackwell tallied a match-high nine blocks to go with six kills and two digs.
• Blossom paced the match with 33 assists, two service aces, eight digs, two blocks, and a kill.
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow added two assists and 11 digs, Allen had nine digs, three service aces, and an assist, freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett had seven digs, and Hoglund notched three digs and a single service ace.
• After the match, Blossom was named the Texas A&M Invitational's Most Valuable Player and Frohling was named to the Texas A&M Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Blossom totaled 118 assists (10.73 assists per match) across all 11 sets this weekend, also adding four service aces, three block assists, and 29 digs.
• Frohling hit .382 on the weekend while notching 35 kills, two assists, five digs, and nine block assists.
• Sunday morning's victory over Hawaii marked head coach Jennifer Petrie's 450th win at the helm in San Diego.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will remain on the road next weekend, traveling to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the Cardinal Classic. USD is set to take on host No. 4 Louisville in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena at 4 p.m. PST on Friday.