SAN DIEGO — A match-high thirteen kills from Breana Edwards on Friday night powered No. 12 San Diego volleyball (6-1, 0-0 WCC) to its third straight sweep, a decisive 3-0 decision over UConn (2-4, 0-0 Big East) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion that ran the Toreros' win streak out to three as day one of the USD Invitational wound to a close.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One - No. 12 San Diego, 25-15

• The Toreros quickly jumped out to a 6-3 lead as the evening's opening set got underway, a rapid run that was punctuated by a kill from redshirt senior middle blocker Gabby Goddard.
• The Huskies answered back by taking an 8-7 lead of their own, but it would be short-lived.
• Edwards, a graduate transfer outside hitter (Indiana) provided an immediate San Diego response, tying the frame at eight with her first kill of the night.
• Two more kills from the Rainier, Oregon native and a service ace from graduate transfer setter Gabby Blossom (Penn State) ensued as the Toreros built momentum, a swell of points that reached its peak when an attack error from UConn made it 15-10 in favor of the home team.
• San Diego led by four points or more for the remainder of the set, stretching its advantage to six on a Huskies attack error before making it seven at 21-14 on a service ace from junior outside hitter Kylie Pries.
• After UConn notched one final point to make it 21-15, USD ripped off four unanswered points to take the set, prevailing by a 25-15 margin in the first to take a 1-0 lead in the match via a kill from Edwards, pair of attack errors from UConn, and a service ace from junior setter Alex Hoglund.

Set Two - No. 12 San Diego, 25-12

• The Toreros picked up right where they left off in the second frame, racing out to a 4-0 lead to start it courtesy of two kills from Goddard and a UConn attack error.
• The Huskies answered with a smattering of points early on, but the San Diego offense kept on rolling, staking itself to an 11-4 advantage on a service ace from Blossom before a kill from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling made it 12-5.
• USD's lead ballooned to double digits as the frame progressed, highlighted by another kill from Goddard to put San Diego up by a score of 20-10.
• Junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School) built on that surge with a kill of her own to make it 23-11, then a UConn service error and attack error earned USD the win in the second set, a dominant 25-12 decision that pushed USD to a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three - No. 12 San Diego, 25-22

• Friday night's third set began with another early San Diego lead, but was more closely contested.
• Ties transpired at two, three, and four points apiece before the Toreros forged ahead at 5-4 on a Lukes kill.
• Two more ties took place at five, six, and seven before USD fell behind, trailing by as many as four points before mounting a comeback.
• Edwards began to chip away with a kill, then UConn gave one back with a service error.
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow took charge with a service ace a point later, and San Diego was back within two at 12-10.
• A service error from the Huskies was followed by a service ace from Frohling, then a clutch kill from Lukes tied the score once again, this time at 13 points apiece after the Toreros erased a mid-set, four-point deficit.
• More back-and-forth play came next, with the two teams trading points up to a 19-19 tie before San Diego took control for good.
• Frohling hammered another kill to start USD's late-match run, then an attack error from the Huskies put the Toreros up by two at 21-19.
• Junior libero Madi Allen followed with a service ace before another UConn attack error punctuated a crucial 4-0 San Diego run to make it 24-19.
• The Huskies battled back for a trio of points down the stretch but would get no closer, as Frohling sealed a 25-22 victory in the set, a 3-0 sweep of UConn in the match, and an undefeated start to USD's 2022 home schedule with a clutch kill.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Edwards led the way for USD with a match-high 13 kills while hitting .276, also adding two block assists, a solo block, and two digs for good measure.
• Lukes (.115) was next with eight kills, contributing two block assists and seven digs along the way.
• Frohling (.313) wasn't too far behind with seven kills of her own, a block assist, and three digs.
• Goddard and Blackwell both hit. 364 while notching six and four kills, respectively.
• Goddard had a match-high two solo blocks, and Blackwell had a match-high five block assists while also chipping in a dig.
• Blossom paced the match with 33 assists, marking her seventh consecutive contest with 30 or more to begin her USD career alongside two block assists and seven digs.
• Benbow set forth a match-best 18 digs, vaulting her into sole possession of sixth-most digs all-time at USD with 1,252 after overtaking Kristen Hurst (2001-04)'s mark of 1226.
• The Frisco, Texas native, who also added two assists on Friday, is 82 digs behind LaManda Mounts' fifth-place mark of 1,334, and is 237 shy of the all-time San Diego volleyball career digs record, held by Hunter Jennings (2013-16) with 1,489.
• Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Anna Jaworowksi had two digs on Friday, and freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett had one while recording a pair of assists.
• Pries had a single dig and a service ace.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will conclude play in the USD Invitational tomorrow evening against Utah. First serve in the JCP is set for 7 p.m.