SAN DIEGO — After going a dominant 9-1 in non-conference play and achieving the second-highest ranking in program history, No. 4 San Diego volleyball (9-1, 0-0 WCC) will conclude its homestand this weekend as it begins West Coast Conference play, hosting No. 17 Pepperdine (9-2, 0-0 WCC) and Loyola Marymount in the Jenny Craig Pavilion as it looks to continue its six-game winning streak.

The Toreros will take on the Waves at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, then wrap up their week with a 12 p.m. matchup with the Lions on Saturday afternoon. Both matches will be streamed live on the WCC Network with Braden Surprenant on the call. Live statistics will be provided on USDToreros.com.

THE CLIMB CONTINUES
• USD checked in at No. 4 in Monday (September 19)'s AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll, the Toreros' highest ranking since September 16, 2013, when San Diego reached the highest national ranking in program history (No. 2).

• Monday's placement is the second-highest ranking in program history (details below)

USD'S HIGHEST ALL-TIME AVCA COACHES POLL RANKINGS
1.  No. 2 - September 16, 2013

2.  No. 4 - Current Ranking (September 19, 2022)

3.  No. 5 - October 3, 2016 - October 24, 2016

4.  No. 6 - September 26, 2016

5.  No. 7 - September 19, 2016

6.  No. 8 - Seven times (Once this season, six times in 2013)
          • Most recent: September 12, 2022

7.   No. 9 - Six times (four in 2013, two in 2017)
          • Most recent: November 27, 2017

8. No. 10 - September 12, 2016

•San Diego, which got as high as No. 19 last season, began 2022 at No. 25 (preseason) and has moved up in each subsequent poll.

USD IN THE 2022 AVCA TOP 25 - WEEK BY WEEK
Preseason (August 15): No. 25

Week One (August 29): No. 15

Week Two (Sept. 5): No. 12

Week Three (Sept. 12): No. 8

Week Five (Sept. 19): No. 4

• The Toreros have been nationally ranked in each of their last 25 seasons, including six Top 5 rankings and 21 total placements in the nation's Top 10.

LUKES NAMED WCC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a dominant performance last weekend that saw her lead No. 8 San Diego volleyball to wins over UCLA and San Diego State at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, redshirt senior Katie Lukes has been named the WCC Offensive Player of the Week, the West Coast Conference announced on Monday afternoon.

• The outside hitter earned the honor after catching fire on September 16 and 17, racking up 36 kills and three service aces while hitting .431 across two matches for an average of 5.14 kills per set.

• Lukes, a native of San Clemente, California, began her dynamic two-game stretch with a match-high 17 against the Bruins, hitting .412 as she averaged 5.67 kills per set on Friday alongside a pair of service aces to lead her team to a dominant sweep.

• She kept things rolling right into a rivalry matchup with the Aztecs the following evening, ripping off 19 kills to pace the match while hitting .447 and averaging 4.75 kills per set, also chipping in another service ace on Saturday for good measure to headline a decisive 3-1 Torero win.

• For the season Lukes now leads USD with 122 total kills and is averaging a team-best 3.49 kills per set.

• Monday's accolade is her third career conference weekly award after earning WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors on two occasions last season (October 4, 2021 and November 1, 2021).

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PEPPERDINE
• The Toreros are 34-43 (.442) against the Waves all-time, but USD has won six of the teams' last 10 matchups, including two of the last three.

• Pepperdine and San Diego last faced off last season on November 13, a tough 3-2 USD loss in the JCP that saw USD squander a 2-0 lead.

• Thursday night's matchup is the first of two between USD and Pepperdine in 2022, with the second coming in Malibu on Saturday, November 19.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Toreros are 47-41 against the Lions all-time, including a 9-1 record in the teams' last 10 matchups.

• Loyola Marymount and San Diego last faced off last season on November 11, a 3-0 USD sweep in the JCP.

• LMU has beaten the Toreros just five times in the last 10 years, a stretch that's spanned 38 matches and has featured 14 San Diego sweeps.

• The Lions last beat USD in March of 2021 during the COVID-19-altered 2020-2021 campaign, winning by a 3-2 margin in Los Angeles at the Gersten Pavilion.

• Saturday afternoon's matchup is the first of two between USD and LMU in 2022, with the second coming on Saturday, November 19 in Los Angeles.

BLACKWELL HEADLINES DYNAMIC DEFENSE
• Led by junior outside hitter Leyla Blackwell, San Diego has ranked among the country's leaders in overall defense, limiting opponents to a minuscule .160 hitting percentage that ranks 34th nationally.

• Blackwell has been at the center of USD's dominant defense this season, leading both San Diego and the WCC with 1.56 blocks per set and 56 total blocks (nine solo), marks that rank seventh and 27th in the nation, respectively.

• The San Diego, California native (La Jolla High School)'s dominance hasn't been limited to defense — she's totaled 55 kills through 10 matches so far in 2022 and is averaging 1.53 kills per set.

• An All-WCC First Team selection in 2021, Blackwell was one of three Toreros named to the 2022 WCC Preseason Team on August 24 and earned her fourth career WCC Defensive Player of the Week honor on August 29.

FROHLING FLOURISHING
• Senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling has completed Blackwell's lights-out defense with superb all-around play of her own so far this season.

• The Los Angeles, California native leads her team with 11 service aces and ranks second on the USD roster with 114 kills and 3.17 kills per set while hitting .340, racking up 10 or more kills in seven of San Diego's 10 matches so far.

• On the defensive side of things, she's chipped in 25 blocks (two solo), which rank third amongst her teammates, and 27 digs, which rank sixth.

• Frohling combined for 20 kills over the weekend against UCLA and crosstown rival San Diego State last weekend, hitting .333 across seven sets for an average of 2.86 K/S.

Frohling's Accolades in 2022:
August 24...........................................................................WCC Preseason Team
August 28........................................................Texas A&M All-Tournament Team
August 29.......................................................WCC Offensive Player of the Week
August 30.......................................................AVCA National Player of the Week
September 4.............................................Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
September 12.........................................USD Invitational All-Tournament Team

BLOSSOM SETS THE TONE
• Graduate transfer setter Gabby Blossom has made an immediate impact for USD since arriving in San Diego over the summer from Penn State, racking up a team-best 392 assists, 95 digs, and a conference-high 10.89 assists per set through all 10 of the Toreros' matches thus far.

• Blossom combined for 86 assists and 17 digs over the weekend against UCLA and crosstown rival San Diego State, recording 39 assists against the Bruins on Friday before pacing Saturday's contest versus the Aztecs with 47 more.

• She has recorded 30 or more assists in each of the Toreros' 10 matches so far, including a season-high 53 on August 26 against No. 6 Pitt.

• The St. Louis, Missouri native earned all-tournament selections in each of USD's three non-conference events to open the 2022 season, including MVP selections in the Texas A&M Invitational and the USD Invitational.

EDWARDS EXCELLING IN SAN DIEGO
• Graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards has gotten out to a hot start as a Torero, racking up 111 kills through 10 matches (35 sets) so far at USD after joining the team from Indiana in the offseason. Her kill total (111) ranks third on the San Diego roster and her kills per set average (3.17) is tied for second.

• The Rainier, Oregon native continued her strong start over the weekend at the JCP against UCLA and SDSU, setting forth 23 kills while hitting .296 and averaging 3.29 kills per set.

• Her kills per set average and kill total in that two-match stretch were second only to Lukes, the eventual WCC Offensive Player of the Week.

• She proved to be key in San Diego's sweep of UCLA last Friday (September 16), contributing 14 kills while hitting .370 alongside a dig, a solo block, and a block assist.

STONER SHINING
• Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner was at the center of the action for San Diego last weekend as it went undefeated against UCLA and San Diego State, notching 15 kills while hitting a robust .370 alongside nine blocks (one solo) and a service ace.

• The San Marcos, California (Mission Hills High School) native set forth her most impressive performance in the weekend finale on Saturday night against the Aztecs, tying her career high with 10 kills while hitting a match-best .600 on the evening alongside three block assists, a solo block, two digs, and a service ace.

• Stoner, who was named to the 2021 All-WCC Freshman Team last season, has started nine of the Toreros' 10 matches so far in 2022, with 51 kills to her credit (1.65 K/S) and four service aces while leading the team with a .349 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, she's racked up 26 blocks (two solo) for an average of 0.84 blocks per set.

BENBOW STEADY AS EVER
• Amid a flurry of offseason additions for the Toreros, redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow has continued to shine as part of a dominant San Diego defense, adding 31 digs across two matches against UCLA and San Diego State over the weekend at the JCP.

• The Frisco, Texas native led both matches in digs, setting forth 13 against UCLA on Friday and 18 against UCLA on Saturday.

• For the season she's totaled a team-high 133 digs (3.59 D/S), has 21 assists, and has chipped in seven service aces.

• Benbow, a 2021 All-WCC First Team selection and a 2019 All-WCC Honorable Mention, was one of three Toreros named to the 2022 WCC Volleyball Preseason Team in August.

• She enters this weekend's action with 1,298 career digs, which stands alone as the sixth-most in USD volleyball history.

• With 36 more, she would overtake LaManda Mounts (1994-97), who currently holds the fifth-most digs in San Diego history with 1,334.

• Benbow is now just 191 digs off the San Diego all-time record of 1,489, held by Hunter Jennings (2013-2016).

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
• Over the last 20 seasons, San Diego is 233-45 at home in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, good for a remarkable .838 winning percentage.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
• USD has swept six out of its first 10 matches.

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.

TOUGH COMPETITION
•Five of No. 4 San Diego's 2022 opponents were ranked when USD played them, or ranked in September 19th's AVCA Coaches Poll.

Those teams are…

• No. 10 Pitt - August 26 (3-2 USD win w/Pitt ranked No. 6)
• No. 4 Louisville - September 2 (3-1 USD loss w/Louisville ranked No. 3)
• No. 8 Ohio State  - September 3 (3-0 USD win)
• No. 17 Pepperdine - September 22
• No. 16 BYU - October 21 and November 22

•Utah, which San Diego beat 3-2 on September 10 and UCLA, which San Diego swept on September 16, have both been ranked at some point in 2022, but were only receiving votes at the time USD played them.

LAST TIME OUT
• Then-No. 8 San Diego won its fifth and sixth consecutive games last Friday and Saturday against UCLA and San Diego State in the JCP, sweeping the Bruins 3-0 before taking down the crosstown rival Aztecs by a 3-1 margin.

September 16 - No. 8 San Diego 3, UCLA 0
• First Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-22
• Second Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-18
• Third Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-17

Notable:
• 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.

• The decision marked USD's fifth straight win and its sixth sweep out of its first eight matches.

September 17 - No. 8 San Diego 3, San Diego State 1
• First Set - San Diego State, 25-20
• Second Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-13
• Third Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-14
• Fourth Set - No. 8 San Diego, 25-12

Notable:
• 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.