SAN DIEGO — A match-high 17 kills (.412) from redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes led No. 8 San Diego volleyball (8-1, 0-0 WCC) to its fifth consecutive win on Friday night in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a dominant 3-0 decision over UCLA (6-3, 0-0 Pac-12) before a crowd of 1,257 that marked the Toreros' sixth sweep of 2022.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One - No. 8 San Diego, 25-22

• The most closely contested of the evening's three sets, Friday night's first frame was a back-and-forth battle early on.
• USD jumped out to a modest 2-0 lead early on with a pair of kills from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling and Lukes, but the Bruins quickly rallied back to tie it.
• More deadlocks ensued in the frame's opening stages at three, four, five, six, and seven points apiece before UCLA began to create separation with a trio of kills to take a 10-7 lead.
• Graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards provided an emphatic answer with a pair of kills to cut the deficit to 10-9, then kills from Frohling and Lukes kept it there as UCLA responded before a Bruin attack error knotted the score at 13 all.
• Back-and-forth play continued through the opening set's middle stages enroute to a 16-16 tie, the Edwards came up big again with another kill for a 17-16 San Diego advantage.
• UCLA answered one final time with a kill before a bad Bruin set and a Grace Frohling kill put the Toreros up for good, earning a 25-22 victory in Friday night's first frame behind four more kills from Frohling and two from Lukes down the stretch to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

First Set Notables:

• Frohling: Nine kills (.643)
• Lukes: Five kills (.364)
• Edwards (.375) and sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (.000): Three kills apiece
• Blossom: 17 assists and five digs
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: Five digs, two assists

Set Two - No. 8 San Diego, 25-18

• In a set in which they never trailed, the Toreros got things started in the second with kills from junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School), Frohling, and Lukes, staking themselves to a 4-1 lead early on.
• Lukes kept things rolling with another kill and a service ace to make it 6-2, then a UCLA attack error and a combo block from Stoner (Mission Hills High School) and Edwards pushed the San Diego advantage to 8-2.
• Another kill from Blackwell kept the lead at six before the Bruins began to answer back, cutting the deficit to just two at 11-9 USD via a pair of kills and a trio of San Diego attack errors.
• A point later, Lukes did some answering of her own, reestablishing her team's advantage with three kills alongside one from Frohling to make it 15-12, San Diego.
• The Toreros' lead swelled to six near the midpoint of the frame courtesy of a kill from Edwards before USD battled to close things out, eventually doing so with one more from the Rainier, Oregon native and two from Lukes to take a decisive 2-0 lead in the match after a 25-18 win in Friday night's second frame.

Second Set Notables:

• Lukes: Seven kills (.357) and one service ace
• Edwards: Three kills (.143) and one block assists
• Frohling (.111) and Blackwell (.333) Two kills apiece
• Blossom: 14 assists and four digs
• Benbow: Five digs

Set Three - No. 8 San Diego, 25-17

• USD began its most dominant set of Friday night's match in fitting fashion, racing to an early 3-0 lead on a pair of kills from Frohling and Blackwell.
• After a 5-5 tie, the Toreros began to build their lead in earnest, jumping back ahead with a kill and a service ace from Lukes, a UCLA attack error, and an Edwards kill.
• USD, which never trailed in the set, took a 19-12 lead down the stretch on yet another kill from Lukes, then set up to close things out with a Stoner kill and an Edwards kill to make it 23-14 in favor of the home team.
• It would be Edwards again to seal the deal, icing a 25-17 decision in the third with one last kill to earn her team a decisive sweep of UCLA that marked No. 8 San Diego's fifth straight win.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes paced the match with 17 kills and two service aces while hitting a match-high .412, a kill total that tied her season high (9/2/22 at No. 3 Louisville).
• Frohling was next with 11 while hitting .360, also adding three digs, a solo block, and two block assists.
• Edwards chipped in nine kills of her own (.222) alongside a block assist and Blackwell (.083) and Stoner (.083) both had four.
• Stoner led the charge defensively for USD, recording a match-high five blocks and a dig.
• Blossom totaled a match-best 39 assists to go with 10 digs and a block assist, marking her eighth consecutive contest with 30 or more assists to begin her USD career.
• Blackwell notched San Diego's lone solo block outside of Frohling's for her team-leading ninth of 2022.
• Benbow had a match-high 13 digs alongside three assists, followed by Lukes (nine), junior libero/defensive specialist Madi Allen (seven), Frohling and freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett (three each), and Stoner (one).
• USD hit .391 as a group while holding UCLA to a .181 hitting percentage.
• No. 8 San Diego has now won five straight and has swept six out of its first eight matches in 2022.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will remain at home tomorrow night to host crosstown rival San Diego State. First serve in the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 6:00 p.m.