LOS ANGELES — Isabel Clark tallied a match-high 21 kills on Saturday night as San Diego volleyball pushed No. 22 USC through five fiercely competitive sets, but the Toreros (3-2, 0-0 WCC) dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Trojans (5-0, 0-0 Big 10) at the Galen Center.

USD cruised to a 25-15 win in the first set, then fell by 25-21 and 25-18 margins in sets two and three. After earning a 25-22 victory in set four, the Toreros fell 16-14 in a decisive fifth and final frame.

Kali Engeman bolstered Clark's big evening with 11 kills (.529), a game-high six blocks (one solo), and a dig. Olivia Bennett anchored the San Diego defense with 17 digs, and Reese Bates added two service aces, which was tied for the match high. Setter Kylie Munday added 49 assists, the most of any player on either team.

After Munday notched the first point of the night with a service ace, the Toreros quickly surged ahead of the Trojans in set one, at one point ripping off a 10-1 run that was punctuated by a kill from Clark. It was more of the same in set two, with Maya Kitna creating a 5-0 run for her team in the frame's early stages by hammering a clutch kill over the middle. One thing led to another following a combo block from Engeman and Kennedy Osunsanmni, and as the set wound down USD had created a 17-10 lead. The Trojans, however, closed set two on a 15-4 run to tie the match score at 1-1.

USD started strong again in set three, pulling ahead 3-0 courtesy of a combo block from Osunsanmi and BayLea Sparks before holding a 12-8 lead halfway through. The Trojans responded by pulling ahead late yet again, this time prevailing in a 25-18 decision as they took a 2-1 lead.

A series of big kills from Clark kept the Toreros in striking distance as the fourth frame got underway, and San Diego trailed 15-12 at the media timeout. Osunsanmi tied the score at 19-19 with a lightly touched overpass that found the floor on the other side, then Engeman erupted for a well-timed kill of her own to bring the period to set point and force the Trojans to take a timeout. USC immediately committed an attack error coming out of the break, giving USD the point it needed to send the match to a fifth set as the score evened at 2-2.

San Diego was up by a five-point, 10-5 margin in set five, and held a 14-11 advantage and served on match point after Clark found her mark with her final kill of the night. But five straight USC points followed, denying the Toreros their third five-set win of 2025 as they fell by a 16-14 margin in the set and a 3-2 margin in the match.

NOTABLE

• USD and USC each had 12 team blocks and five team service aces.
• Clark has totaled 14 kills or more in each of her first five matches to begin the 2025 season.
• Her 37 kills across Friday's loss to No. 13 Creighton and Saturday's defeat to No. 22 USC marks the most productive two-match stretch of her career. Clark's 21 kills against the Trojans were just two shy of her career high of 24, which she achieved at Pepperdine on November 9, 2024.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will close out the 2025 Trojan Invitational tomorrow evening when they take on UC Santa Barbara at the Galen Center. First serve against the Gauchos is set for 4:00 p.m.