LINCOLN, Neb. — San Diego volleyball's magical, memorable 2025 season came to a close on Friday evening with a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Kansas State.

The Toreros (25-5, 18-0 WCC) fell to the Wildcats (18-9, 10-8 Big 12) by a 25-21, 17-25, 28-26, 22-25, 12-15 margin at the University of Nebraska's Bob Devaney Sports Center.

"What an outstanding, brave match that was, on both sides," San Diego head coach Jennifer Petrie said postgame. "So many lead changes, so many moments where (the Toreros) had to stand up and be confident and strong…it was an epic battle."

Nemo Beach and Isabel Clark paced the USD offense by combining for 42 of USD's 67 kills. Setter Kylie Munday totaled 55 assists, and senior Olivia Bennett led all players with 25 digs in her final college match.

After trailing only once enroute to victory in set one and falling in a one-sided second frame, San Diego showed poise as it closed out set three. With USD leading 24-21 after a kill from Baylea Sparks and a service ace from Bennett to push the frame to set point, KSU scored four straight times to pull ahead, 25-24. A kill from Beach tied it at 25-all, but the Wildcats struck again to take a 26-25 lead. A kill from Beach and back-to-back clutch kills from Clark followed, sealing a 28-26 win for the Toreros in Friday night's third set as they pulled ahead 2-1 in the match.

"I think we saw the fight that we've seen from this team all season," graduate middle blocker Kali Engeman described of the Toreros' resilient effort on Friday. "We were gonna be brave and do whatever we could, no matter what the score was."

USD opened up set four on a 9-4 run and held a 17-16 lead down the stretch but could not hang on to win the match, instead allowing Kansas State to rally and force a decisive fifth and final frame. The Wildcats opened up set five on a 5-0 run of their own and held a 10-5 advantage before San Diego launched a furious comeback to tie it at 10-10. The Toreros stayed within a point in the match's final moments when kills from Engeman and Beach made the score 12-11 and 13-12, but KSU recorded back-to-back kills to close the set and deal USD a 3-2 loss.

"This has been an outstanding run for this program," Petrie added. "I'm so proud of the way they've worked, and the culture they've built, and the leadership we've had."

NOTABLE

• Beach totaled 12 digs on Friday to earn her ninth double-double of 2025. She also added three service aces.
• Engeman had eight kills and four blocks (two solo) in her final college match.
• BayLea Sparks also had eight kills, and led USD with four block assists. She was one of four Toreros to record more than one block on Friday.
• Kennedy Osunsanmi contributed four kills and a block assist in her NCAA Tournament debut.
• Freshmen Lauren Lynch (11 digs) and Ava Durgan (three kills and two blocks) also made an impact in their first-ever NCAA Tournament action.
• Friday's loss snapped an 18-game win streak for USD, which was the sixth-longest active streak of consecutive wins in the country in 2025.

WHAT IT MEANS
San Diego finished with 25 wins in 2025, which is tied for the fourth-most victories in a single season in program history. The Toreros' perfect 18-0 mark in 2025 West Coast Conference play gave them an unbeaten league record for only the third time in program history, and just the second time under the conference's current 18-game format. After winning the 13th WCC Championship in program history last month, Friday's clash at the Bob Devaney Sports Center marked USD's 27th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time.

For Bennett, the lone player on the San Diego roster who saw action in both the 2022 NCAA National Semifinal and Friday evening's 2025 NCAA Tournament match, returning USD to the postseason was both a full-circle moment and the culmination of a longstanding goal.

"This group had to work really hard, because we haven't been in the tournament for the last two years," said Petrie. "Liv started her career in the Final Four, and to have to rebuild from that, where we lost a tremendous amount of firepower, and a team that was very seasoned, and take it on their shoulders to get back to the legacy of what USD volleyball has been, is a very special moment. We went undefeated in conference, that's just a testament to how hard-working and determined they are, and how much they were on board."

Sitting to her coach's left, Bennett nodded and flashed a bittersweet smile.

"It means everything to be back in the tournament this year," she said. "I'm just super grateful."