SAN DIEGO — No. 8 San Diego volleyball (9-1, 0-0 WCC) punctuated a dynamic run through its non-conference schedule with a dominant win over crosstown rival San Diego State (2-9, 0-0 Mountain West) on Saturday night, taking down the Aztecs 3-1 behind a match and season-high 19 kills from Katie Lukes for the Toreros' sixth consecutive victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One - San Diego State, 25-20

• USD got off to a slow start in the evening's opening set despite jumping ahead 1-0 on a match-opening kill from Lukes.
• The Aztecs' lead swelled to as many as eight through the midpoint of the set before a kill from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling got the Toreros back within four at 24-20.
• SDSU would seal a first-set win a point later, however, taking the opening frame by a 25-20 margin to earn a 1-0 advantage in the match.

First Set Notables:

• Frohling and graduate outside hitter (Indiana) Breana Edwards: Four kills apiece
• Frohling: .571 hitting percentage
• Lukes: Three kills (.333)
• Graduate setter Gabby Blossom (Penn State): 11 assists and two digs
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: Three digs

Set Two - No. 8 San Diego, 25-13

• San Diego quickly found its stride as the second set got underway, racing to a 3-0 lead courtesy of kills from Lukes and junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School) and a San Diego State attack error.
• USD kept the Aztecs at a healthy distance through the second set's early stages before creating distance in earnest down the stretch, an effort that was sparked by a kill from Edwards to make it 19-8 in favor of the home team.
• The Torero lead swelled back to nine a handful of points later on yet another kill from the Rainier, Oregon native at 21-22, then kept on rolling to a 12-point, 24-12 advantage via a Frohling kill.
• SDSU answered with one final point before Lukes found her mark for the eighth time, icing a 25-13 win for the Toreros in the second that evened the match at one set apiece.

Second Set Notables:

• Lukes (.500) and Edwards (.833): Five kills apiece
• Blossom: 10 assists and two digs
• Blackwell and Frohling: One block assist apiece
• Benbow: Four digs
• Junior libero Madi Allen: Two digs

Set Three - No. 8 San Diego, 25-14

• Back-and-forth play gave way to back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) to begin Saturday night's third set, with the San Marcos, California native undoing a 3-3 deadlock before Frohling piled on with a service ace to make it 6-3 in favor of USD.
• A San Diego State timeout did little to stop San Diego's offensive onslaught, only delaying a four-point, 7-3 Torero advantage that was facilitated by yet another kill from Stoner.
• Lukes hammered home another kill to keep the lead at 8-4, then Edwards pushed it to 9-5 with a kill of her own.
• Things stayed close through the set's middle stages before USD began to pull away down the stretch, doing so by sandwiching another San Diego State timeout with kills from Stoner (2) Lukes, and Frohling plus a pair of Aztec attack errors to make it 20-10.
• Two kills from Lukes and a service ace from junior outside hitter Kylie Pries set the stage for another San Diego set win before Edwards and Stoner brought it home, securing a 25-14 decision in favor of USD in the third to move the Toreros ahead 2-1 in the match.

Third Set Notables:

• Stoner: Seven kills (.875) and three block assists
• Lukes: Four kills and two block assists
• Blossom: 13 assists and a dig
• Benbow: Seven digs
• Allen: Three digs
• Freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett, Frohling, Edwards, and Lukes: One dig apiece
• Edwards: Two block assists

Set Four - No. 8 San Diego, 25-12

• USD jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Saturday night's final frame and never looked back, creating early distance on a pair of Aztec attack errors and a Lukes kill.
• That early surge eventually became a 7-1 run to get things going in the fourth, highlighted by two kills from Lukes, a kill from Frohling, and a service ace from Frohling.
• San Diego kept its lead at six points or more through the set's opening stages, then broke through for a 10-point, 16-6 lead halfway through with a kill from Lukes that forced an SDSU timeout.
• The pause in play proved to be fruitless for the Aztecs, as USD poured it on as the set wound down to lead by as many as 14 when Lukes found her mark with a service ace at 23-9.
• A kill from Stoner advanced the frame to match point before Edwards once again closed things out, crushing her final kill of the night to earn USD a decisive 25-12 win in the fourth that secured San Diego a 3-1 victory in the match over crosstown rival San Diego State.

Fourth Set Notables:

• Lukes: Seven Kills (.462), one service ace, and four digs
• Edwards: Four kills (.571) and a solo block
• Frohling: Two kills (.667), two service aces, and a dig
• Stoner: One kill, one dig, and one solo block
• Blossom: 13 assists and two digs
• Benbow: Four digs and an assist
• Bennett: One dig

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes led the way for USD for the second consecutive evening, this time tallying a season-high 19 kills (.447) alongside a service ace, six digs, a solo block, and two block assists.
• Edwards was next with 14 kills while hitting .370 on the match, also adding a dig, a solo block, and a block assist.
• Stoner tied her career high with 10 digs while hitting a match-best .600, chipping in a service ace, two digs, a solo block, and a team-high three block assists.
• Frohling followed Stoner with nine kills of her own while hitting .304, tying the match-high with three service aces, three digs, and a block assist.
• Blackwell had four kills (.167), an assist, and two block assists.
• Blossom paced the match with 47 assists and seven digs marking her 10th consecutive contest with 30 or more assists to begin her USD career.
• Benbow contributed a match-high 18 digs alongside a trio of assists, followed by Allen with 10.
• San Diego concluded its 2022 non-conference schedule with a record of 9-1, with the Toreros' lone loss coming at No. 3 Louisville by a score of 3-1 on September 2.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will continue their homestand and begin West Coast Conference play next week when they host No. 22 Pepperdine on Thursday, September 22. First serve in the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.