No. 13 San Diego • No. 9 Oregon | RV Hawaii | Northwestern

August 25-27 | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) • Honolulu, Hawaii

Streaming (Saturday Only)  •  ESPN+ |  Live Statistics (All Matches)  • HawaiiAthletics.com

Social  •  Facebook.com/USDVolleyball  •  Twitter.com/USDVolleyball  •  Instagram.com/USDVolleyball

HONOLULU — No. 13 San Diego volleyball will begin its 2023 campaign in Hawaii this weekend, taking on No. 9 Oregon, RV Hawaii, and Northwestern on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as part of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The thirteenth-ranked Toreros will match up with the ninth-ranked Ducks on Friday night at 7:45 p.m. PST, followed by a clash with the host Rainbow Wahine at 10:00 p.m. PST on Saturday night. USD will then wrap the first weekend of its 2023 season on Sunday evening, taking on Northwestern at 5:45 p.m. PST.

Only Saturday's matchup against Hawaii will be streamed, with the action from Honolulu appearing live on ESPN+.

Live statistics for all three matches will be available on HawaiiAthletics.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST HAWAII
• The Toreros are 4-5 all-time against the Rainbow Wahine, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming nearly a year ago today, a 3-0 San Diego sweep on August 28, 2022 at Reed Arena as part of the Texas A&M Invitational.

• USD has won each of its last two matches against Hawaii dating back to another 3-0 sweep at a neutral site: September 3, 2021 as part of the Utah Classic at the Huntsman Center.

• San Diego last played at the Stan Sheriff Center on  December 7, 2019, falling to the Rainbow Wahine by a 3-0 margin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• The Toreros' most recent win in the Stan Sheriff Center came a day earlier: a 3-1 decision over Washington State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on December 6, 2019.

• USD last defeated Hawaii in the Stan Sheriff Center exactly six years ago today (August 26, 2017), sweeping the Rainbow Wahine by a 3-0 margin.

• 2023 marks the second time in the last five seasons that San Diego has opened up its season with play in the Rainbow Wahine Classic after also doing so in 2019.

• Excluding the pandemic-modified 2020-2021 season, USD has faced off with Hawaii within the first three matches of each of its last four seasons, taking on the Rainbow Wahine on August 30, 2019, (3-2 USD loss in Hawaii), September 3, 2021 (3-0 USD win in Salt Lake City), August 28, 2022 (3-0 USD win in College Station, Texas), and this year: August 26, 2023 in Hawaii.

READY TO RUN IT BACK
• San Diego won 31 games in 2022 (including 28 in a row and a perfect 18-0 West Coast Conference record) and reached the NCAA National Semifinal for the first time ever after achieving a No. 2 national ranking, marking the most successful season in program history.

• The Toreros' lone two losses last season came at the hands of the teams that played for that year's national championship — Texas and Louisville — and USD took a set from both the Longhorns and the Cardinals.

• USD's 2023 roster features nine returners from last year's squad, including 2022 All-WCC First Team selection/2022 VolleyballMag.com All-American Honorable Mention Leyla Blackwell and 2022 All-WCC Honorable Mention Haylee Stoner.

AMERICA'S TOP COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL COACH
• Jennifer Petrie, a proven winner who in 2022 cemented her status as not only one of the premier volleyball minds in the country but as one of the most successful and decorated leaders in San Diego sports history, will enter her 25th season as San Diego volleyball's head coach in 2023.

JENNIFER PETRIE'S 2022 ACCOLADES
• 2022 AVCA National Coach of the Year
• Unanimous 2022 VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year
• 2022 AVCA Pacific South Region Coach of the Year
• 2022 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year

• San Diego has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 22 of the past 24 seasons. Petrie's career record is 478-165 with a .743 winning percentage that ranks 10th among all active Division I coaches with 400 or more wins. Additionally, the Toreros are riding a streak of 13 straight NCAA appearances.

• Petrie enters the 2023 season just 22 wins away from 500 for her coaching career.

POLL POSITION
• San Diego checked in at No. 13 in the 2023 AVCA/TARAFLEX Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the Toreros' highest preseason placement since 1996, when USD entered the season at No. 10.

• After beginning the season at No. 25 in the 2022 AVCA Division I Women's Coaches Poll, USD team moved up or maintained position in every AVCA Poll until November 28, 2022. The Toreros tied a program-high No. 2 national ranking on October 31, 2022 and held strong there for four straight weeks, giving them 12 weeks in the nation's Top 5 through 15 total polls. USD eventually finished at No. 3 in the final 2022 AVCA Top 25 Poll (December 19), the highest placement it's ever concluded a season with.

HITTING THE PORTAL
• The Toreros added two players from the transfer portal this offseason: setter Anni Evans from Nebraska and outside hitter Amber Stivrins from Georgia.

• Evans enters this season with one year of college eligibility remaining following 2023.

• Stivrins, a graduate transfer, is in her final college season.

IN IT TO WIN IT
• San Diego was picked first in the 2023 WCC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, the West Coast Conference announced on August 23.

• USD took home the top spot in the poll with 75 points and a commanding seven first-place votes, finishing six points ahead of second-place Pepperdine (two first-place votes). It's the first time that San Diego has been picked to win the conference since 2016, when the Toreros opened the season ranked No. 26 nationally and finished the year 24-6 (15-3 WCC).

THREE TOREROS EARN ALL-WCC PRESEASON HONORS
• Three Toreros were named to the 2023 WCC Volleyball Preseason Team, the West Coast Conference announced on August 23.

• Middle blockers Leyla Blackwell and Haylee Stoner and outside hitter Amber Stivrins comprised USD's preseason team selections. Blackwell has now earned a WCC preseason honor in back-to-back seasons (2022 and 2023), while Stoner and Stivrins are earning preseason recognition for the first time in their San Diego careers.

• Blackwell, a senior from San Diego, California (La Jolla High School), has established herself as the WCC's premier defensive player since she joined the Toreros as a transfer from Indiana in 2021, earning back-to-back All-WCC First Team selections (2021 and 2022), a 2022 VolleyballMag.com All-American Honorable Mention, a 2022 AVCA Pacific South All-Region Honorable Mention, and five WCC Defensive Player of the Week awards.

• As a junior in 2022 she led the WCC with 176 total blocks and an average of 1.50 blocks per set, marks that ranked fifth and sixth nationally. Blackwell also added 232 kills (1.98 K/S) while hitting a team-high .354, 20 digs, and five assists. She started all five of the Toreros' NCAA Tournament matches, totaling 51 kills while hitting .385 (2.55 K/S) alongside 31 block assists and four solo blocks (1.75 B/S). The San Diego, California native played the hero in the biggest win in San Diego volleyball history that winter, tallying 14 kills while hitting a robust .583 in her team's win over Stanford in the 2022 Elite Eight, including game-winning back-to-back strikes in the fifth set to end the match and push the Toreros to their first-ever Final Four.

• Stivrins, a graduate transfer from Georgia who hails from Scottsdale, Arizona, enters her final college season with a proven track record of being an explosive offensive player while matching up against premier competition. She spent her freshman year (2019) at Louisville before moving on to Georgia, where she played from 2020-2022. Stivrins led the SEC with 47 aces in 2021, which ranked 25th nationally, paced the Georgia roster with 212 kills in the 2020-2021 season, and earned 2019 ACC All-Freshman Team honors at Louisville as she helped the Cardinals to the NCAA Elite Eight.

• Stoner, a junior from nearby San Marcos, California (Mission Hills High School) made an immediate impact upon her arrival in Alcala Park in 2021 and has since emerged as one of the conference's most dynamic and versatile players. She earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention and was a two-time WCC Defensive Player of the Week as a sophomore in 2022, appearing in 32 of the Toreros' 33 matches (31 starts) while totaling 159 kills (.299) alongside 98 block assists, 12 solo blocks, 37 digs, 11 service aces, and nine assists. Stoner ranked third on the San Diego roster in total blocks (110.0) and finished second in solo blocks (10). Her .299 hitting percentage was the third-best for USD in 2022. She played in all five of the Toreros' NCAA Tournament matches, totaling 23 kills and 14 total blocks, including six kills in both the tournament's second round against Washington State and the Sweet 16 against Kentucky, and five blocks in USD's 3-2 win at Stanford in the Elite Eight.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
• In addition to the Toreros' two transfers, four freshmen are set to join the team for the 2023 season. They include…

• Nemo Beach (Chandler, AZ) was named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year during her senior season

• Tatum Lane, (San Pedro, CA), who was selected to the All-Bay League First Team

• Liv Hertzog,  (Long Beach, CA) who was the Trinity League MVP out of Mater Dei

• Ella Durham (Dublin, OH) who earned 2023 Prepvolleyball Top 150 honors

A FAMILY AFFAIR
• Anni Evans played with Amber Stivrins sister, three-time All-American Lauren Stivrins , at Nebraska for two seasons (2020-2021 and 2021).

• Stivrins' father, Alex, played basketball at Creighton and Colorado followed by time in the NBA, including a stint with the Atlanta Hawks in 1993.

• Her brother, Lucas Stivrins, played basketball at Nevada.

• Both of Kylie Pries' brothers have professional baseball experience. Jake Pries spent two seasons in the New York Yankees organization, and Micah Pries currently plays for the Cleveland Guardians Triple-A affiliate.

• Maya Kitna's uncle, Jon Kitna, played in the NFL for 14 seasons, spending time with the Seahawks, Bengals, Lions, and Cowboys.

LEAVING A LEGACY
• Madi Allen's is the third member of her family to attend USD, following her mother and brother.

LONGTIME TEAMMATES
• Leyla Blackwell and Madi Allen played club volleyball together for three years prior to college.

A GLOBAL GAME
• Eight states and two countries are represented on USD's 2023 roster, including California, Illinois, Maine, Arizona, Nebraska, Kentucky, Ohio, and Brazil.

HOMETOWN HEROES
• This year's USD roster includes three San Diego natives: Leyla Blackwell, Haylee Stoner, and Madi Allen.