PROVO, Utah — San Diego defeated No. 9 BYU in a five-set battle (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10) on Friday night to take sole ownership of first place in the WCC.
The Toreros (15-4, 8-0 WCC) extended a 13-match winning streak, handing the Cougars (16-3, 7-1 WCC) their first conference loss in Smith Fieldhouse since Oct. 27, 2017 (USD, 3-1). The win marked USD's second victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Anna Newsome spread the ball around effectively for USD, collecting 49 assists, helping four Toreros reach double-digit kills and directing the Toreros to a .288 hitting percentage. Newsome tallied 13 digs to register her sixth double-double of the season, adding five kills and one ace.
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Thana Fayad led all hitters in the match, finishing one kill shy of her career-high with 19 and hitting .204 on the night. The senior outside hitter added seven digs, two aces and three blocks to finish with a match-high 21.5 points.
Megan Jacobsen hit .385 to collect 13 kills, while Grace Frohling added 12. Katie Lukes also reached double-digits with 11 kills, hitting at a .407 clip. Lauren Turner chipped in nine kills at a blazing .692 hitting percentage with zero errors on 13 swings.
The Toreros out-blocked the Cougars, 11-8 with Turner leading the defensive effort in the front row. The redshirt freshman collected a match-high eight blocks — a new career best — finishing the night with 13 points. Frohling added six blocks, while Jacobsen and Fayad chipped in three.
Annie Benbow also registered a new career high, finishing with 22 digs on the night. Payton Douglass and Roxie Wiblin both added eight digs, as part of USD's defensive effort that held BYU to a .250 hitting percentage.
Madelyn Robinson and McKenna Miller led the way for the Cougars offensively, finishing with 18 and 13 kills respectively.
San Diego silences the Smith Fieldhouse!!! 🤫 @USDVolleyball stuns No. 9 BYU in five sets (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10) to hand the Cougars its first home conference loss since 2017 (also by the Toreros)!#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/4Jhc15jvaL
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 19, 2019
It was a match of momentum swings that saw the Toreros dominating the first set. With the set tied at 15-all, San Diego put together a five-point run to put itself firmly in front. Fayad collected seven of her 19 kills and the Toreros took the first set 25-18.
The second set was a different story, with the Cougars pulling away late with a 5-1 run. USD was limited to a .194 hitting percentage and BYU took the set 25-20.
USD came out red hot to start the third set, taking an early a 12-3 lead. The Toreros hit a match-best .444 and held off a late surge from the Cougars to take the set and lead the match, 2-1. However, the Cougars would not go quietly, putting together an 8-1 run midway through the fourth set and winning, 25-17, to force a deciding fifth set.
It was all San Diego in the final frame. At 4-all, the Toreros took full control of the set, going on an 8-2 run behind six USD kills including three from Turner. At 14-10, Jacobsen collected a final kill off the BYU block to complete the upset.
The Toreros remain on the road next week to begin the second half of conference play, traveling to Pepperdine (Oct. 24) and Loyola Marymount (Oct. 26).
