SAN DIEGO — No. 4 San Diego volleyball (10-1, 1-0 WCC) began its 2022 West Coast Conference schedule with a strong performance on Thursday night, taking down No. 17 Pepperdine (9-3, 0-1 WCC) by a 3-1 margin at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in what marked the Toreros' seventh consecutive win.

USD dropped the first set 25-22, then rallied for 25-19, 25-21, and 25-20 wins to secure the match.

Reigning WCC Offensive Player of the Week hitter Katie Lukes (redshirt senior outside hitter) led the Toreros in kills for the third straight match with 16 to highlight a well-rounded USD effort that saw the team lead the Waves in service aces 8-0 and out-block the visitors 11-7.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - No. 17 Pepperdine, 25-22

• San Diego struck first for 1-0 and 3-2 leads in the opening frame on a Pepperdine attack error and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) but quickly ran into trouble, allowing the Waves to jump ahead 6-5 on an attack error after a back-and-forth battle early on.
• Pepperdine held that advantage through the rest of the set, expanding it to as many as five before USD began to reign it in.
• A kill from junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School) cut the deficit to three at 20-17, then senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling added a kill of her own to make it 20-18 and force a Waves timeout.
• The two teams traded attack errors out of the break before Frohling trimmed Pepperdine's lead to just one at 21-20 with her second service ace of the evening.
• Pepperdine answered with a kill to again make it a two-point lead, then Lukes responded with a kill of her own to move the score to 22-11 in favor of the Waves.
• An Pepperdine attack error on the ensuing point tied the set for the sixth and final time at 22-22, but USD got no closer, dropping a tough 25-22 decision in Thursday night's opening frame to fall behind 1-0 in the match.

First Set Notables:

• Lukes: Six kills (.250), one dig
• Frohling: Two service aces
• Graduate setter Gabby Blossom: Nine assists, five digs
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: Six digs

Second Set: No. 4 San Diego, 25-19

• The Toreros didn't take long to find their stride in Thursday's second set, racing to a 5-0 lead via a kill from Frohling, a bad Pepperdine set, and three attack errors from the Waves.
• USD's early dominance continued despite Pepperdine's eventual answer, (a kill to make it 5-1) running their lead out to a six-point, 7-1 margin on another Frohling kill and another Pepperdine attack error.
• San Diego led by six when Stoner notched a service ace to make it 10-6, then kept rolling into an eight-point, 15-7 advantage later on when Blossom recorded a service ace of her own.
• Pepperdine got within five down the stretch at 24-19, but a powerful kill from Blackwell ended the Waves' aspirations of a comeback in the second, earning USD a 25-19 decision that evened the match at one set apiece.

Second Set Notables:

• Graduate outside hitter Breana Edwards: Four kills (.083)
• Blossom: Two service aces and nine assists
• Stoner: Two solo blocks

Third Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-21

• USD picked up right where it left off in the third, establishing an early on a bad Pepperdine set, a Waves attack error, and a kill from Blackwell.
• Back-and-forth play followed to create a 6-6 tie, then Pepperdine grabbed its first lead of the frame on a kill.
• The two teams traded points enroute to a deadlock at 8-8 before San Diego began creating separation in earnest.
• Lukes and Edwards led the charge with a pair of kills to create a three-point advantage (14-11), followed by one from Frohling to make it four (17-13).
• Blackwell held the line with a kill to keep it at 19-15 before a last-chance Pepperdine comeback ensued.
• The Waves got within two at 22-20 with a kill but got no further, falling 25-20 in the third set when Edwards hammered her 10th kill of the evening home to push San Diego ahead 2-1 in the match.

Third Set Notables:

• Edwards: Five kills (.308)
• Stoner: Three block assists
• Blossom: 11 assists, two digs

Fourth Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-20

• Perhaps the most evenly matched set of the evening early on, Thursday night's fourth and final frame began with a flurry of back-and-forth play, culminating in ties at one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and 10 points apiece.
• Pepperdine broke through for a pair of points to establish a 13-11 advantage, but it was short-lived, as Edwards single-handedly erased USD's deficit with a two kills of her own to tie it once again at 13.
• After a San Diego service error allowed the Waves to jump back ahead, Edwards found her mark yet again, tying the score at 14 with another kill before a service ace from Blossom put the Toreros ahead for good at 15-14.
• USD, which never trailed again in the match, extended its advantage to as many as four down the stretch, an effort that was highlighted by a kill from Blackwell and a clutch combo block from Blackwell and Frohling that delighted an engaged crowd of 619 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
• One final rally from the Waves was extinguished with an emphatic late-match kill from Lukes to keep San Diego's advantage at four points (22-18), a strike that preceded a service ace from junior outside hitter Kylie Pries that made it 24-19 in favor of the home team and all but sealed the win for USD.
• A bad set on the evening's final play made things official, earning San Diego a decisive 25-20 win in the set for a 3-1 victory in the match, marking the Toreros' seventh straight victory in the team's first WCC game of 2022.

Fourth Set Notables:

• Edwards (.455) and Lukes (.400): Five kills apiece
• Blossom: Two service aces, 10 assists, and three digs
• Blackwell and Frohling: Two block assists apiece
• Benbow: Five digs

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes led the way for USD for the third consecutive contest, tallying a match-high 16 kills while hitting .213 and contributing four block assists and five digs for 18 total points.
• Edwards was just behind with 15 kills of her own while hitting .167 alongside five digs and a block assist.
• Blackwell hit .500 while recording eight kills and chipped in two digs and five block assists.
• Stoner paced the match with five block assists and two solo blocks, also adding two kills, an assist, a service ace, and two digs.
• Blossom totaled 39 assists, 10 digs, and a match/season-high four service aces. She has recorded 30 assists or more in each of the Toreros' first 11 games this season to begin her San Diego career.
• Frohling had six kills (.167), two service aces, three digs, and four block assists for a total of 10 points on the evening.
• Benbow led USD with 17 digs and two assists.
• San Diego out-hit Pepperdine .213 to .190, tallied eight service aces while holding the Waves to zero, and out-blocked the visitors 11-7.
• Thursday night's action featured 22 ties and nine lead changes.
• The Toreros' win over No. 17 Pepperdine marks the team's third win over a Top 25 team after beating No. 6 Pitt (August 26) and No. 8 Ohio State (September 3).
• USD has now won seven straight matches, a stint that dates back to September 3rd's sweep of then-No. 8 Ohio State at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville and includes four victories in straight sets.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will conclude their homestand on Saturday afternoon by hosting Loyola Marymount as they continue WCC play. First serve in the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 12 p.m.