BERLIN — A match-high 11 kills from
Isabel Clark powered San Diego volleyball to a 3-0 sweep of Team Australia on Thursday afternoon, earning the Toreros their first win while representing the United States at the 2025 World University Games.
USA prevailed in narrow 25-23 and 26-24 decisions in the first two sets at Max-Schmeling-Halle Arena, then raced to a 25-13 victory in the third and final frame to secure the match.
A balanced defensive effort aided Team USA in the win. The United States out-blocked the Australians by a 7-2 margin and had three players with eight or more digs, including a match-leading 12 from
Olivia Bennett.
Kylie Munday orchestrated the USA offense with precision, recording 33 assists.
Team USA trailed Team Australia early on in the first set before a kill from
Kennedy Osunsanmi knotted the score at 8-8. The Americans went on to claim a mid-set lead that stretched to as many as five when
Nemo Beach found her mark to make it 17-12. Australia rallied to tie the score at 20-20 and 22-22, but clutch kills from Osunsanmi and Beach sealed the frame in their favor and gave the USA a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set two was closely contested as well, and Team USA trailed until a kill from Clark tied it at 18-18. After falling back behind down the stretch, Team USA mounted a furious last-second comeback that was punctuated by a solo block from Clark to tie the set at 25-25 and a kill from Beach that secured a remarkable 26-24 victory for the United States as it pulled ahead 2-0 in the match.
The United States battled back-and-forth with Team Australia early on in the third set, but as the set neared its midpoint the Americans had taken a commanding 13-4 lead. That advantage swelled to as many as 13 enroute to a 23-13 win in the final frame and a 3-0 sweep of the Australians in the match.
San Diego/Team USA is back in action tomorrow (Friday) at 8:00 AM PST with another pool play matchup versus Chinese Taipei.
From July 16-27, 2025, San Diego volleyball will join around 8,500 other student-athletes and officials from over 150 countries in competing for medals in 18 sports at the World University Games, one of the largest multi-sport events in the world. The Toreros will be representing the USA as the nation's only women's volleyball team in the Games.
