LOS ANGELES — San Diego volleyball (3-3, 0-0 WCC) started strong but couldn't hang on in its matchup against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday evening, suffering a 3-1 defeat to the Gauchos (3-2, 0-0 Big West) at the Galen Center to conclude the Trojan Invitational.

The Toreros won the opening frame by a score of 25-19 before falling by 25-23, 25-18, and 25-18 margins to drop their third straight match.

Three USD players tallied double-digit kills in the loss, with Kennedy Osunsanmi (.290) totaling 12 and Nemo Beach (.206) and Kali Engeman (.333) both adding 11. Setter Kylie Munday did her part with 37 assists and nine digs, while Maya Kitna (six block assists) and Olivia Bennett (18 digs) headlined the Torero defense.

After battling back and forth with the Gauchos early on, San Diego closed out the first frame on a 4-0 run to win the period and take a 1-0 lead. Sunday's second set had a match-high nine tie scores in addition to three lead changes — which equaled the opening set for the most in the match — but that was as close as the Toreros got. USD led just once more across the final two frames despite tying the score twice in the third set and five times in the fourth.

NOTABLE

• Reese Bates added six digs and two assists on Sunday.
• Osunsanmi also contributed four digs and three blocks.
• Kitna chipped in five kills, and Munday had two of her own.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Seattle to begin play in the University of Washington's Husky Invitational. Their first match at the Hec Edmundson Pavilion will be against the University of Arizona, with first serve slated 2:00 p.m.