For the time in program history, the Toreros are going to the national semifinal. The University of San Diego is the No. 2 seed for the 2022 NCAA Volleyball tournament and they will face the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on Dec. 15.
The Toreros beat No. 1 Stanford on Dec. 10 in five sets. Stanford was up 2-1 until San Diego fought back to punch their ticket to Omaha, Nebraska. Many people counted the Toreros out, but they continued to beat the odds.
Any questions?#GoToreros pic.twitter.com/FmqS6Hvmm9
— San Diego Volleyball (@USDVolleyball) December 11, 2022
About the Toreros
San Diego is a part of the West Coast Conference and they have won 12 conference championships.
This 2-seed team is coached by Jennifer Petrie, who is in her 24th year with the program. Petrie’s record at San Diego is 447-163, which ranks 10th among all Division I coaches with at least 400 wins.
This is not San Diego’s first successful season. They are on a streak of 12 straight appearances to the NCAA tournament, Petrie has led her team to the sweet sixteen four times and now she can add Final Four to their list of accomplishments.
As for the players, San Diego gained five transfers: Gabby Godard (MB), Leyla Blackwell (MB), Gabby Blossom (S), Breana Edwards (OH) and Madi Allen (DS).
In fact, Breana Edwards recorded 18 kills in the match against Stanford. Edwards and Blackwell each recorded seven blocks.
On the offensive side, Edwards leads the team with 367 kills. Grace Frohling, a senior, is behind Edwards with 348 kills. Gabby Blossom leads the team with 1287 assists on the season.
For defense, Annie Benbow (redshirt senior) recorded 415 digs for the team. Blackwell leads the team with 145 blocks and Frohling is behind her with 104 blocks.
Their only loss was to Louisville on Sept. 2. After that, the Toreros have not dropped a match.
How do they match up against Texas?
The Longhorns defeated Ohio State on Dec. 10 to advance to the Final Four. They have also had a successful season. It’s looking like one of the teams with the best chemistry.
Offensively, the Longhorns have Logan Eggleston (OH), Asia O’Neal (MB), Madison Skinner (OH) and Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S). These four make the Longhorns’ offense fluid and cohesive.
Zoe Fleck, the libero, has made the biggest impact defensively for the Longhorns. Fleck is everywhere on the court and she gives all her effort to keep the ball up.
Likewise, the Toreros have all the pieces to advance to the national championship game. San Diego has the fluid offense, they have a solid offense and their chemistry gives them that extra boost. However, the Longhorns run a faster offense.
Overall, it will be challenging for San Diego to read the Texas block because Texas likes to send three blockers, depending on the hitting situation. Also, Texas is good at filling the gaps behind the block as well. The Toreros will have to read the defense quickly to execute the type of hits they want.
On the other hand, San Diego have their tools too. They have amazing blockers at the net. Even though their blocks may have some holes, their defense knows how to recover and get to the ball.
Blossom is very impressive. As the setter, she sets the tone for the offense and she’s good at reading where to set her hitters up. She transferred from Penn State University and her experience has helped her lead her team to the Final Four.
Above all, this is going to be a great national semifinal game and these two teams will put up a fight no matter what.
What’s Next?
According to the NCAA volleyball, this will be the first time ever that the Final Four will not include a Pac-12 team or a Big Ten team.
The winner of the San Diego vs. Texas match will face the winner of Louisville vs. Pitt, which will also be played in Omaha. Likewise, Pitt took down No. 1 Wisconsin to punch their Final Four ticket.
Thursday night will mark a great night of volleyball. So get comfortable and enjoy.
Follow me on Twitter @KylaMcGhee2022. And check out Beyond Women’s Sports for more articles on amazing women and their sport.
