The San Diego Toreros are ranked No. 11 in the nation and are preparing for the postseason and looked every bit of it as they swept the Dons inside War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Saturday afternoon.Â
The first two sets saw the Toreros (24-4, 15-2 WCC) really flex their muscles as they would jump out to big leads and maintain them the whole way through. The third set was a different story, however.Â
Kate Ashman would get the Dons on the board first but USD would come storming back and take a commanding 8-3 lead. Just when it seemed like the Toreros would go on a game ending run,
Marjolijn Oskam and
Carly Lowry started chipping away at the lead and
Kate Ashman finished what they started tying the set at 13.Â
A back and forth affair would ensue as
Emily Reed sparked the team defensively with a huge block. The set was again tied at 18, but San Diego pulled away despite a couple of well placed balls by
Tyna Adamcikova. San Diego would take the deciding set 25-21.Â
"We came out really flat in the first two sets," USF head coach
Vicki Brown explained. "For us to come out that flat was us going back to some of our old problems that we overcame. It was a disappointing start but they did pick it up in the third set which is how we should have started the first, but at the end of the day they did came out and fought until the end."
On the day, Adamcikova was the kills leader with eight while adding five digs. Reed had a strong all-around game with five kills, six digs and a block. Oskam was a force in the middle with four solo blocks and three kills.
Shannon Levinson and
Trish Koutsoukos each had a team-high 11 assists.
Kim Gutierrez led the Dons with eight digs.Â
Next up for USF (4-26, 0-17 WCC) is the final match of the season. The Dons will host the Pacific Tigers and senior
Emily Reed will be honored before the game. This will also be Community Giving Night where fans can donate canned food to the SF-Marin Food Bank and receive a $5 General Admission ticket in return. The match can also be streamed live on TheW.tv
