Volleyball wins 11th straight

Toreros advance to 13-4 (7-0 WCC) after defeating Santa Clara University

Maria Watters / Assistant Sports Editor / The USD Vista

The USD women’s volleyball team advanced to 13-4 (7-0 WCC) after defeating the Santa Clara Broncos in an intense three-set victory Thursday night in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

After a decisive win against the University of San Francisco a week earlier, the Broncos sought to end USD’s impressive 10-game win streak. Losing just five sets since their last defeat, the Toreros entered Thursday’s match determined to defend their undefeated conference record as they reach the midpoint of their season. 

USD volleyball head coach Jennifer Petrie was confident in her team’s abilities, but very aware of the strengths of the Broncos as well heading into Thursday’s match. 

“We know that, in our conference, in any given night, you have to come out sharp and ready to play because everyone is capable of taking down somebody in conference,” Petrie said. “Especially when you start off in the lead, people really want to gun for you at that point, so it’s important that we come out aggressive and ready to play.”

On top of the pressures already surrounding the contest, Thursday night’s match held a special significance for the players and the fans watching. With the players, fans, and court adorned in pink, the spirit of breast cancer awareness month was alive in the gymnasium, honoring and celebrating the brave and courageous souls who have or are currently battling breast cancer with a battle between two dominant teams. 

The Bull Pit thundered with excitement as the teams took the court; they were ready for a battle, and a battle they would get. While the Broncos averaged higher in blocks and aces per set, the Toreros won out in more kills and digs per set. Statistically, the teams were evenly matched. 

USD served first, setting the tone for the match right from the start with a huge kill by first-year  opposite hitter Grace Frohling. The Toreros capitalized on the Santa Clara hitting errors early in the set, jumping ahead to a 4-1 lead. But the Broncos remained composed, scoring two big kills and the first ace of the match from first-year outside hitter, Julia Sangiacomo. Santa Clara fought their way to the lead over the Toreros, 6-4. 

The teams exchanged kills and blocks, not surrendering more than two points at a time. But, after substituting setters and opposite hitters, the Toreros went on a four-point run. Shaken up by the blocking ability and speed of the Torero’s front line and the incredible defense led by sophomore libero Annie Benbow, several communication and hitting errors cost the Broncos, forcing them to call the first timeout of the match when the score reached  8-11. 

Coming out of the timeout, the Toreros’ momentum was interrupted enough for the Broncos to tie up the score at 14. Though both sides continued to battle, the Toreros maintained the lead for much of the set, once again forcing a Santa Clara timeout at 16-20. 

This timeout proved less successful for Santa Clara, as USD was soon poised to close out the set at 24-20. But the Broncos weren’t going down without a fight, denying the Toreros’ set point three times. An incredible rally for the fourth set point seemed to end with a kill by USD sophomore outside hitter Katie Lukes, but Santa Clara challenged the call, claiming their player managed to keep the ball off the floor. But after a painstakingly-long review, the original call was confirmed and San Diego was awarded the point and the first set, winning 25-23. 

During the break, fans looked up at the jumbotron and watched a touching video about cancer research and the Side-Out Foundation, a group that works with volleyball players and the community at large to bring about change in the way that breast cancer is treated. The video encouraged viewers to visit the foundation’s website at side-out.org to learn more about this incredibly important cause.

 Though the Toreros narrowly won the first set, they came out of the break confident, quickly winning back the serve and a 3-0 advantage. But, just like the first set, the Broncos battled back from their slow start to take the lead by a score of 4-3. 

 The lead shifted between the two teams for the first half of the second set until the double substitution of setters and opposite hitters for USD led to a four-point run for the Toreros, giving them a comfortable lead of 18-14. Despite their efforts, Santa Clara was never able to retake the lead and USD won the second set 25-22, giving the Toreros a two-set advantage.  

While it was not obviously reflected in the score, USD seemed to dominate the second set with the momentum firmly on their side. Santa Clara would have to make serious adjustments in order to combat the relentless San Diego attack.

USD emerged from the locker room full of energy as they were set to start the third set. After earning the first point off a tip by Lukes, it seemed like the Toreros were off to another dominant start, but the Broncos were determined to prevent USD from getting an early lead. Santa Clara went on a seven-point run, the longest of the match, giving them a comfortable 7-1 advantage, and forcing a San Diego timeout. 

 The Toreros may have been shaken. Half of the Broncos’ points were caused by USD attack errors. Despite being up two sets, losing the third would give the Broncos plenty of confidence for a fourth set. Somehow the Toreros would need to come up with an answer and fight their way back into this set.

After calling the timeout, Petrie had to reorganize her team in order to respond to the Broncos’ seven-point run. 

“Volleyball is a game of momentum, and (Santa Clara) certainly took hold of that in that third game, and they needed to,” Petrie said. “Any team that’s down 0-2 is going to come out their strongest in the third game, and so we did a good job of weathering that storm.”

 Coming out of the timeout, the Toreros were able to string together a short run to close the gap, but Santa Clara maintained the lead. USD was in desperate need of a change if they were going to have any chance of winning the set. 

 With the Broncos up 18-16, it seemed the fans were preparing themselves for a fourth set, but the Toreros were determined to take the third. First, two kills by USD senior outside hitter Thana Fayad resulted in a Santa Clara timeout. After, the Toreros kept going and a huge kill from USD senior setter Anna Newsome sent the Bull Pit into a frenzy. USD had taken the lead and had their eyes set on the win. 

Another kill by Newsome gave the Toreros match point at 24-18. They had scored eight unanswered points, absolutely dominating the end of the third set. USD needed just one more point to put the Broncos away, and a silencing kill by senior middle blocker Megan Jacobsen did just that. The Toreros took the third set 25-18.

 The Toreros dug themselves out of the 1-7 hole at the beginning of the set and won the match by going on the longest run of the match — nine unanswered points. USD defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 3-0, extending their win streak to 11 and exited the gymnasium at an impressive 13-4. 

 Petrie was proud of the way her team battled back into the third set. 

“During our conference play we have just been really trying to focus on getting better each time we play,” Petrie said. “Every time we step on the court … we have bigger goals and bigger aspirations than any one individual match. I just want to see them improve on the areas that we’ve been working on in practice and put it into play in a match.”

 The match itself was a battle of grit, determination, and heart. Neither team stopped fighting, and neither team ever gave up. For some, it was an incredible volleyball match, but for all, it was a beautiful homage to those who fight their own battles with breast cancer. Their grit, determination, and heart was truly celebrated Thursday night in a match that those in attendance will not soon forget. 

The Toreros will go on the road this week to take on the 14-2 BYU cougars on Friday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.