LOS ANGELES — The Toreros fought, and fought, and fought, extending the match even after a premature victory celebration from the Lions commenced and the scoreboard briefly went "final." San Diego rallied from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set in a tense back-and-forth affair, coming tantalizingly close to an stunning comeback as its players banded together amid an improbably hostile environment at the Gersten Pavilion.

But in the end, a high-octane Loyola Marymount offense proved to be too much for a young Torero team on Thursday night, dealing USD (8-7, 3-2 WCC) a tough 3-2 defeat in Los Angeles.

San Diego raced to a 25-22 win in the first set, fell 25-21 and 25-14 in sets two and three, then roared back to life with a 25-20 victory in set four to push the game to a decisive fifth frame that ended with a 15-13 score in favor of LMU (12-4, 4-1 WCC).

For the most part, it was a night in which the Toreros were constantly in the mix, firing on all cylinders when they were ahead and constantly nipping at Loyola Marymount's heels when they were behind. A match-high 19 kills from true freshman Isabel Clark made sure of that. Her success on offense was to some extent counteracted, though, by the 18 team service errors San Diego combined to commit.

And still — serving miscues and all — there USD was in the fifth, trailing by just a one-point, 14-13 margin after one final clutch kill from Clark (and a replay review challenge from head coach Jennifer Petrie) kept the match alive.

Two strong sets in the preceding minutes allowed San Diego to get that far. USD was tied with LMU as late as 15-15 in the opening frame before pulling away for good on a kill from Nemo Beach. It appeared as if the Toreros were well on their way to securing a 2-0 advantage when another big strike from Beach helped them take a 20-18 lead in set two. Then things slipped away after LMU embarked on an 8-1 run to even the match at 1-1.

A difficult third set that USD never truly contested gave way to a resurgent fourth frame, one that saw San Diego lead by as many as seven down the stretch via key kills from freshman Kennedy Osunsanmi.

After the Toreros traded points with LMU early in the fifth set and fell behind midway through, Madi Allen's service ace pulled them back within a point late in the frame and two kills from Clark kept them there.

The Lions responded with a kill of their own to make good on their second attempt at victory formation, the first one having been negated, for at least a moment, by Petrie's successful last-chance challenge.

NOTABLE:

• First-year setter Kylie Munday notched the eighth double-double of her young college career by recording 39 assists and 10 digs.
• Kristen Erland was tied for the match high with six block assists and hit .400 as she added seven kills.
• Beach chipped in 10 kills while hitting at a .318 clip.
• The Toreros hit .361 as a team, but allowed LMU to hit .407.
• Allen had 15 digs and three service aces.
• Defensive specialist Olivia Bennett totaled 11 digs and two assists.

UP NEXT
San Diego is off on Saturday before returning to action on Thursday, October 17, when it hosts Portland in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. First serve against the Pilots is set for 7:00 p.m.