LIMA, Peru — San Diego volleyball got better with every set on Thursday afternoon, running past Argentina 19-25, 25-10, 25-12, 25-21 to reach the gold medal match at the 2026 FISU America Games. Competing as Team USA, the Toreros hit .364 for the match, their best figure of the tournament thus far, and moved to 4-0 in Lima with at least a silver medal secured.
San Diego put up seven attack errors in the opening set and hit .154. Over the next three, it committed four total, climbing from .433 in the second set to .455 in the third and .519 in the fourth.
Argentina had no answer once that started. After hitting .257 in a first set it won going away, it managed 10 points in the second and 12 in the third while hitting .028 and minus-.080. San Diego's first-ball side-out told the same story from the other direction: four of 24 in the opening set, then 6-for-11, 10-for-13 and 11-for-21 the rest of the way.
Emma Brewer led the Toreros with 14 kills at a .310 clip and had a hand in six of San Diego's nine team blocks, more than any other Torero. She added nine digs and did not miss on any of her 14 serve-receive chances.
Kierstyn Barton and
Nemo Beach both posted double-doubles. Barton put down 13 kills on 29 swings for a .345 mark and added 10 digs, an ace and a block. Beach matched her with 13 kills and 13 digs and was the more efficient of the two, committing a single attack error on 25 attempts for a .480 clip — a sharp turn from the .043 she carried through group play.
Meghan Scholz stayed hot in the middle with seven kills on 15 swings for a .400 clip, two aces and four blocks, and
BayLea Sparks added three kills without an error and three blocks of her own.
Kylie Munday ran a spotless match at setter, distributing 40 assists without a single setting error while adding 14 digs, four kills on seven swings and three aces. San Diego did not commit a setting error as a team all afternoon.
Lauren Lynch matched Munday with 14 digs and handled all 11 of her reception attempts cleanly. Behind that back row the Toreros passed at .938 as a team and out-dug Argentina 63-49.
Ryann Knuth did not find the floor attacking but stayed perfect in serve receive, taking four more chances without an error.
Reese Bates went 7-for-7 from the service line with an ace, and
Tatum Lane served an ace on her only attempt of the match.
UP NEXT
San Diego plays for gold on Saturday, August 1 at 3 p.m. PT against the winner of Chile and Peru.
