SAN DIEGO — Coming off a 2025 calendar year that included a Team USA appearance at the FISU World University Games in Berlin and an undefeated West Coast Conference championship run, San Diego volleyball will once again don the red, white, and blue this summer when it represents the United States at the 2026 FISU America Games in Lima, Peru.
The fourth edition of FISU America's biennial multi-sport event, the Games will be held July 20 through August 1 at Lima's Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) and will feature student-athletes from more than 20 nations competing across 14 sports. Volleyball is one of those 14 disciplines, joining basketball, futsal, swimming, taekwondo, and others on the program. Lima previously hosted the 2019 Pan American Games and is set to host them again in 2027, with several of those same high-performance venues being utilized for the 2026 FISU America Games.
For USD, the trip to Peru marks the program's second international representation of the United States in as many summers. Last July, the Toreros joined approximately 8,500 student-athletes and officials from more than 150 countries in Berlin, where they served as the nation's only women's volleyball team at the 2025 FISU World University Games and went 3-3 across pool play and the knockout rounds. San Diego took down Team Australia, Team Chile, and Team Mongolia in Germany, ultimately finishing 10th out of 16 participating nations. Multiple Toreros earned high marks in the tournament's individual statistical categories: setter Kylie Munday was recognized as the most efficient setter at the entire event, libero Olivia Bennett ranked fourth among all players in digs, and outside hitters Nemo Beach and Isabel Clark each cracked the top 15 in total points. Beach's serving impact also ranked sixth in the tournament.
That international experience carried over into one of the most successful seasons in program history once the Toreros returned to NCAA play in the fall. San Diego closed 2025 with a 25-5 overall record — tied for the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history — and a perfect 18-0 mark in West Coast Conference play, claiming its 13th WCC Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It marked just the third time the program has run the table in conference play and only the second time it has done so under the WCC's current 18-game format.
The Toreros' regular-season dominance was punctuated by a sweep of the conference's major awards. Jennifer Petrie was named the 2025 WCC Coach of the Year, junior outside hitter Nemo Beach earned 2025 WCC Player of the Year honors, senior libero Olivia Bennett was tabbed the 2025 WCC Libero of the Year, and sophomore setter Kylie Munday was selected as the 2025 WCC Setter of the Year. Beach, Munday, sophomore outside hitter Isabel Clark, and graduate middle blocker Kali Engeman all received 2025 All-WCC First Team honors. After earning a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament — the program's 27th appearance overall — San Diego came up just short in a five-set thriller against Kansas State at the University of Nebraska's Bob Devaney Sports Center to close out the year.
Several of the central contributors from that championship campaign will return to anchor USD's roster in Lima. Beach, Clark, Munday, and 2025 All-WCC Honorable Mentions Ava Durgan and BayLea Sparks all have remaining eligibility, and they will be joined by incoming transfers Kierstyn Barton — a 2025 AVCA All-Region and All-Big Ten First Team selection from Washington — and middle blocker Meghan Scholz from DePaul.
International competition of this magnitude carries significant travel, lodging, and operational costs, and San Diego volleyball is asking its supporters to help send the team to Peru. Torero alumni, fans, and friends of the program interested in helping fund the Toreros' journey to the 2026 FISU America Games can contribute to the team's travel fund by CLICKING HERE.
