Who runs the court? Girls.
Volleyball dominates St. Marys for their conference win of the season
Mari Olson / Sports Editor / The USD Vista
Photo courtesy of Jarek Morgan, The USD Vista
The no. 25 ranked University of San Diego volleyball team opened their West Coast Conference (WCC) schedule at home with an impressive win over the Saint Mary’s University Gaels on Thursday, Sept. 23.
The Toreros won in straight sets defeating the Gaels 25-7, 25-21, 25-9. This was USD’s fifth win in a row over Saint Mary’s — with the streak dating back to Fall 2019.
Senior outside hitter, Katie Lukes, talked about how volleyball’s preseason affected their mindset coming into their first conference game.
“We had a lot of confidence coming into this game because we did have a lot of big, gritty wins this preseason,” Lukes said. “Just relying on that confidence and knowing we can beat any team, and respecting each team the same.”
Junior outside hitter, Grace Frohling, also commented on the importance of the non-conference preseason games USD played this year.
“We had a really good preseason and then I think coming off of that loss [to LBSU] we all were hungry to start conference,” Frohling explained. “Making sure that we keep ourselves in check and are ready for any team that we play no matter what they’re ranked or who they are. We have to come out as the same USD team.”
USD made a full team effort in the first set to dominate Saint Mary’s. Senior libero, Annie Benbow, scored two aces during the set, while Lukes had five kills. The Toreros limited the Gaels to seven points during the entire set.
In the second set, the Gaels found their footing. Saint Mary’s scored four in a row to make the score 12-9 to the Toreros, and then continued their advancement to get within one point of USD at 17-16.
The Toreros were able to hold off the Gaels, however, never relinquishing the lead, and finished off the second set, 25-21.
The third set was similar to the first; the Toreros never let the Gaels anywhere close to the lead. USD made point after point from all around the court.
USD volleyball finished out the set 25-9 and the match was over in under an hour and a half.
Benbow led the Toreros with 18 digs during the game to keep the Toreros pushing forward. Lukes finished the match with 15 kills, while Frohling followed her with 10 kills in addition to three aces.
Photo courtesy of Mari Olson, The USD Vista
Lukes talked after the game about how USD volleyball approached the match.
“I think that we just came out and respected them a lot and didn’t let any runs go,” Lukes said. “I think that shows how we have to show up with every team in our conference. Just never playing down to anybody, and owning and protecting our own court.”
Frohling added that the Toreros made some impactful changes coming into the game on Thursday, and were able to apply them successfully against the Gaels.
“We added a lot of new things, like I think the back row was getting going this time, and our middles were up on offense with everyone,” Frohling said. “I think that was really important to winning and to the rest of the season, having everyone scoring from every single position.”
Lukes emphasized that there are still things the Toreros will improve upon in their upcoming games.
“We’ve really been able to implement what we’ve been working on for this game, so keeping that up especially when it comes to the really, really tough matches in our conference,” Lukes said.
Frohling agreed with Lukes that there will be tough matches in the WCC this season for the Toreros, and she was confident that USD will rise to the challenge.
“Coming out strong against those higher teams so that we can try and move up in the rankings and also make it known that we’re a really good team and that we can be in the [NCAA] tournament and we can make it far,” Frohling said. “When we get to those BYU games, Pepperdine games, not just playing them well but dominating them, I think will be important.”
The Toreros played their second conference match against the University of the Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 24. USD won that match 3-0 as well, with Lukes and Benbow continuing to lead the Toreros through their efforts on the court.
With the two wins last weekend, USD volleyball’s overall record improves to 8-3 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
This weekend, the Toreros will head to the Bay Area to play the University of San Francisco on Thursday, Sept. 30 and Santa Clara University on Oct. 2.