Weekly Recap

Volleyball’s WCC dominance continues in Malibu; Steiner sets new school record for 8k

Mari Olson / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

It was Homecoming Week from Oct. 11 through Oct. 17, and the University of San Diego’s sports teams celebrated the occasion appropriately. Golf, volleyball, and cross country all competed outside of San Diego, but brought the USD passion to their competitions. 

Volleyball

USD’s no. 22-ranked volleyball team traveled to Malibu, California on Thursday, Oct. 14 to test their skills against no. 24 Pepperdine. After a hard fight, the Toreros came away with the victory, beating the Waves 3-2. 

USD had an away of 8-9 record against Pepperdine going into the match, and showed their strength in the tough win.

USD and Pepperdine went back and forth during the match. The Toreros took the first set, 25-21, but the Waves came back to win the second set 19-25. USD was able to pull out another victory in the third set, again 25-21, and Pepperdine answered with a 25-27 win of their own to force the match to five sets. 

The Toreros were able to hold on for the win in the final set, 15-13, to overcome their toughest competitor yet, and push their conference record to 7-0. 

USD took their unbeaten record further south on Saturday, playing the Loyola Marymount University Lions in Los Angeles on Oct. 16. After falling 0-2 behind, the Toreros found their game and won the last three sets for a massive comeback to win overall 3-2. 

This was the eighth straight win for the Toreros. They are still unbeaten in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. 

The first two sets were close: the Lions won 20-25, 23-25, and in the third set the Toreros decided they’d had enough. USD stormed back to win 25-16, 25-23, 15-13 in the next three sets. 

Junior outside hitter, Grace Frohling, set a career high for kills during the match, with 24 against the Lions to help the team to victory. 

Junior setter, Isadora Terçariol, continued to set her teammates up for success with 42 assists in the match. 

Next up for the Toreros is another tough WCC matchup against no. 8-ranked Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah on Friday, Oct. 22. 

Cross Country

The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 16 for the Highlander Invite hosted by the University of California (UC), Riverside. 

Men’s cross country finished 12th out of 26 teams overall, just ahead of the hosts UC Riverside, posting an average time of 25 minutes and 21 seconds over an 8k distance. Women’s cross country finished 10th out of 25 teams with an average time of 22 minutes and 31 seconds over a 6k distance. 

Individually, senior, Ethan Steiner, led the way for the Toreros, coming in 19th out of nearly 300 athletes competing. 

Steiner set a school record over the 8,000 meter distance, holding a 4:55 mile pace, and finishing with a time of 24 minutes and 27 seconds. 

Junior, Gianna Sbarbaro, finished 53rd out of over 250 athletes to lead the women. Sbarbaro posted an under-six minute mile time over the 6,000 meter race, which is just over three and a half miles.

USD cross country had an outstanding showing in Riverside. Between the men’s and women’s teams, 23 total athletes set personal best times. Four men’s runners and five women’s runners placed in the top 100 for the race. 

The Toreros’ next race for both men’s and women’s cross country will be the WCC cross country championships, which will take place in Concord, California on Oct. 29. 

Golf

USD golf competed in the Reno Wolf Pack Classic hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno on Oct. 11 through Oct. 12. The Toreros finished 11th overall out of 15 teams.

The team competed in three rounds over the two days against schools from all over the West, including the University of New Mexico, the University of San Francisco, and Loyola Marymount University. 

Sophomore, Andi Xu, led the way for the Toreros individually, finishing one over par and 15th out of 80 golfers. Redshirt junior, Charlie Reiter, tied for 19th with three other players to finish, scoring three over par over the two days. 

Graduate student, Mason Glinski, and redshirt juniors, Evan Kawai and Harrison Kingsley, also competed in the individual competition, finishing 53rd, 55th, and 59th respectively. 

USD golf will look to rebound from the Reno tournament in Maui, Hawaii Oct. 24 through Oct. 26 at the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational. The Toreros will be searching for their first team win of the season to push them through the rest of their fall schedule.