HONOLULU — No. 13 San Diego volleyball (0-3, 0-0 WCC) on Sunday evening concluded play in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic with a tough 3-1 loss to Northwestern, falling to the Wildcats (1-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in four sets at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - Northwestern, 25-17

• USD pulled ahead by a 4-2 margin early on in the first via kills from Leyla Blackwell and Amber Stivrins before the Wildcats rallied to tie the score at four.
• Northwestern gradually extended its lead as the set progressed, eventually earning a 25-17 win in Sunday's opening frame to pull ahead 1-0 in the match.

Second Set - No. 13 San Diego, 25-22

• Stirvrins started out Sunday's second set strong, giving USD an early 3-2 advantage with a kill.
• Haylee Stoner followed by punctuating a 4-0 run with a service ace, extending the Toreros' advantage to three at 7-4.
• Leyla Blackwell made it a five-point lead at 11-6 with a kill of her own before the Wildcats came back to tie the score at 12.
• After falling behind by as many as three, a kill from Nemo Beach and a Northwestern attack error brought USD back within one at 17-16.
• Staring down a late 22-20 deficit, San Diego ripped off a stunning 5-0 run to secure a 25-22 win in the second set, tying the match score at 1-1 after two kills from Kylie Pries, a service ace from Madi Allen, and two more kills from Stoner, including the set-sealing point.

Third Set - Northwestern, 25-13

• USD jumped ahead 1-0 in the third set on a kill from Blackwell but quickly fell behind by a 3-2 margin after the Wildcats notched a kill of their own.
• The Toreros stayed within one at 4-3 on a Northwestern service error but got no closer, falling behind by a 2-1 margin in the match after the Wildcats took set three, 25-13.

Fourth Set - Northwestern, 25-20

• Beach got the third set started with her eighth kill of the evening, putting USD up by a 4-2 margin.
• After falling behind by as many as seven through the set's middle stages, the Toreros ripped off a 5-0 run, pulling back within two at 19-17.
• Annika Hester kept the deficit at three with a kill as the set wound down to make it 23-20 but San Diego could not overcome Northwestern to force a decisive fifth frame, falling to the Wildcats by a 25-20 margin in the set and a 3-1 margin in the match.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Beach (.154) and Blackwell (.300) were tied for the USD lead with nine kills apiece.
• Blackwell paced the Torero defense with six blocks (one solo).
• Alex Hoglund set a new career-high in assists for the second consecutive evening, notching 39 against the Wildcats after recording 38 on Saturday night against Hawaii.
• Madi Allen notched 15 digs, one shy of her career high.
• Stoner and Allen recorded the Toreros' lone two service aces.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Thursday evening, when they return home to host Tennessee as part of the USD Invitational. First serve at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, and tickets are on sale now.