#14 San Diego Tops Pepperdine to Earn Share of WCC Crown and NCAA Bid

MATCH NOTES

• #14 San Diego def. Pepperdine 3-1 (15-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22)
• San Diego moves to 24-4 overall, 17-1 WCC
• Pepperdine drops to 16-15 overall, 8-10 WCC
• San Diego, California
• Attendance: 502
• Box Score
• VolleyMob Top 25 Power Rankings (Week 14)

With its four-set win over Pepperdine on Tuesday, the #14 San Diego Toreros claimed a share of the West Coast Conference crown. They also earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament based on a head-to-head points tiebreaker with #10 BYU.

The title marks San Diego’s first championship since 2013 and 10th overall.

Against Pepperdine, the Toreros received key contributions from senior opposite Jayden Kennedy (16 kills), junior middle Addie Picha (12 kills), junior middle Kaity Edwards (10 kills) and senior libero Lizzy Tardieu (18 digs). YEAR setter Kristen Gengenbacher also recorded a double-double (47 assists, 10 digs).

For the visitors, sophomore outside Hannah Frohling registered a double-double of her own (18 kills, 10 digs), while sophomore middle Jasmine Gross notched 14 kills and four blocks. With her blocking effort, Gross ended the season with 179 total blocks, establishing the new single-season Pepperdine record by 21 blocks. She also became the Waves’ all-time leader in average blocks per set with 1.52.

Pepperdine came out strong in set one, winning 25-15, but the Toreros rebounded in the next three frames, winning 25-18, 25-19 and 25-22, to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Toreros will learn their first-round opponent on Sunday night during the NCAA Selection Show, which airs on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

Kristen Gengenbacher… how’s it feel to be a champion!? pic.twitter.com/pnp9EqxZde

— USD Volleyball (@USDVolleyball) November 22, 2017

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: San Diego Athletics

WCC Champions!

Toreros take down Pepperdine in four sets to claim 10th WCC Championship

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The No. 9 USD Volleyball team (24-4, 17-1) knocked off Pepperdine in four sets to win the WCC Championship Tuesday evening inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion. After starting off slow in the first, the Toreros won the next three sets to clinch their 14th consecutive win (15-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22).

This is the Toreros’ tenth WCC Championship and their first since 2013. They are co-champions with BYU, but USD earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to the head-to-head points tiebreaker. The Toreros will find out their first round opponent and site on Sunday during the NCAA Selection Show, which is airing at 6:00 p.m. on ESPNU.

Three Toreros had double-digit kills, led by Jayden Kennedy‘s 16. Addie Picha had 12 with just one error and Kaity Edwards notched ten kills. Kristen Gengenbacher had a double-double with 47 assists and ten digs. Lizzy Tardieu led the team with 18 digs.

The Toreros struggled in the first set and had more errors (10) than kills (9), losing 25-15. They rebounded in the second set, fueled by four aces. They jumped out to a 3-1 lead and didn’t trail the rest of the set. They led by as much as 11 (22-11), but Pepperdine made a mini-run to cut the deficit to six (24-18), but it was too little too late and USD took the set 25-18.

Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics

PEPPERDINE ENDS SEASON WITH 3-1 LOSS AT #9 SAN DIEGO

Jasmine Gross ended the season with 179 total blocks, besting the previous all-time Pepperdine women’s volleyball single-season block record by 21 blocks.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team faced off with 9th-ranked San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Tuesday night, ending with the Toreros earning a 3-1 win and a share of the West Coast Conference title with 15-25, 25-18, 25-19 and 25-22 set victories.

Hannah Frohling led the Waves (16-15, 8-10 WCC) with her 14th double-double after posting 18 kills and 10 digs. She also had two aces, while Jaiden Farr led the team with three aces. Jasmine Gross closed the season on a 14 kills, four block effort.

BIG WAVES
Hannah Frohling (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS): 18 kills, 2 aces, 10 digs
Jasmine Gross (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS): 14 kills, .227 hitting percentage, 4 blocks
Heidi Dyer (San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian HS): 35 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills
Alli O’Harra (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS): 4 kills, 5 blocks (1 solo)
Hana Lishman (Kailua, Hawai’i/Punahou School): 19 digs, 4 assists
Ashley Harris (Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande HS/Arizona): 3 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs
Jaiden Farr (Peterson, Utah/Morgan HS): 12 digs, 1 kill, 3 aces

THE RECORD

Gross ended the season with 179 total blocks, besting the previous all-time Pepperdine women’s volleyball single-season block record by 21 blocks. That record has stood at 158 blocks since the 1991 and 1992 seasons when Lesli Asplund and Barbara Stross broke it in 111 and 109 sets respectively. Her season block total stands at 170 after today.

She also became the Waves all-time single-season blocks/set leader with 1.52 blocks/set this season. The previous sideout scoring and all-time record stood at 1.45 blocks/set in 1992 when Barbara Stross posted 158 blocks in 109 sets. The rally scoring record stood since 2005 when Sophia Milo posted 1.38 blocks/set with 143 blocks in 104 sets.

WAVES VS. TOREROS

The Waves out-blocked the Toreros 9.0 to 6.0 collectively, but USD’s 56 kills on a .165 output along with seven aces and 69 digs earned the opposition the win. Pepperdine amassed 44 kills on a .191 success rate, while adding five aces and 56 digs all night.

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET

Set K-E-TA (Pct)

1. 13-4-30 (.300)
2. 10-3-33 (.212)
3. 12-4-41 (.195)
4. 9-6-37 (.081)

TOTAL: 44-17-141 (.191)

SAN DIEGO ATTACK BY SET

Set K-E-TA (Pct)

1. 9-10-35 (-.095)
2. 14-6-34 (.235)
3. 16-5-42 (.262)
4. 17-9-47 (.170)

TOTAL: 56-30-158 (.165)

PLAY-BY-PLAY

The Waves came out with something to prove in the first set, amassing a 7-4 lead off the bat with back-to-back blocks from O’Harra and Gross. Smashes from Frohling and Gross on the outside helped the cause and another late block from Frohling and Nielsen gave the Waves a 16-7 edge over the Toreros. USD attempted to start the comeback attempt late in the set, but Pepperdine stayed tough and a pair of kills from Gross and Dyer and an ace from Frohling earned the Waves a 25-15 first set win for the 1-0 lead early on.

San Diego adjusted for the second set and flipped the script on the Waves, pulling ahead 14-7. The home team then closed out the set 25-18 before heading into the break.

The third set was much closer than each the previous two, with each team reaching the 14-14 mark late in the set. Despite a Waves’ offensive effort, the Toreros pulled ahead and shut out Pepperdine en route to a 25-19 third set win and the 2-1 lead.

The fourth and final set was close again for both sides. After an 8-8 tie, the Toreros started to pull away with the momentum for a 15-12 lead, but the Waves closed the gap to tie the set at 19’s with the help of kills from Frohling and an ace from Farr. Although Pepperdine gave a big effort to continue to stay in the match, the home team’s energy prevailed and San Diego secured a share of the WCC title with a 25-22 set win and the 3-1 overall match victory.