by SAN DIEGO, Calif – The University of San Diego women’s volleyball team dealt No. 9 Brigham Young University a 3-2 loss Friday evening in a West Coast Conference match at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
With the win, the Toreros improve to 13-7 overall, have won their fourth straight match and pull to within one match of the Cougars for first place in the WCC. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 16-3 overall, move to 7-1 in the WCC and saw its 11-match winning streak come to an end.
Lauren Schad was in double-digit kills for the Toreros as she had 10, while hitting for a .333 clip
“This match was really important. One, it’s a rivalry, we have been head-to-head with BYU for the conference championship the past two years, and they have also never won here. So it was a pride thing going, as well as a rivalry thing for us,” stated Brown.
In the first set, both San Diego and BYU came out firing on all cylinders as it was a back and forth battle right out of the gates. After trailing for most of the first half of the frame, and with USD behind 9-7, a BYU attack error sparked a 7-2 run to give San Diego the momentum and a 14-11 lead. The two teams then continued to trade point-for-point over the next few possessions until USD took a 19-17 lead on an Schad kill to force the Cougars into a timeout. USD then grabbed the next two points to force BYU into its final timeout. San Diego never looked back as they cruised to a 25-18 win.
The Toreros will return to action on Thursday, as they remain at home and welcome Pepperdine University to town for a 7 p.m. showdown.
