SAN DIEGO – The 1,000-strong fans were treated to a volleyball thriller as crosstown rivals San Diego State Aztecs (5-5) and University of San Diego Toreros (7-3) went the distance: a five setter at SDSU’s Peterson Gym on Friday night. The expected winner, USD, pulled out the win, 25-16, 27-25, 16-25, 20-25, 15-9, but it came with plenty of drama.
Crosstown matchups always provide dilemmas for the stronger team. Just ask the 2015 RPI* No. 21 Aztecs men’s basketball team who swaggered into Petco Park for an outdoor game against the RPI No. 337 Toreros, and shuffled out after a 53-48 upset and one of its worse losses in program history (read more here).
The underdog in crosstown contests has special incentive to win. It is as a matter of pride to defeat hometown rivals. Just ask SDSU senior Keira Herron. “We’re really excited,” Herron shared before the match. “We played UCSD last night and won that, so USD is the next step, winning San Diego. That’s basically our biggest goal is to win San Diego for the city, for our school.”
Although the ranking difference in Friday’s contest was not nearly as dramatic as the 2015 men’s basketball showdown, there was a clear favorite: USD came into the evening with a Dec. 2024 No. 56 RPI (the most recent data available), two Fall 2025 tournament championships, and votes for top 25 in the AVCA* rankings. The Aztecs? They had a No. 119 RPI (also from Dec 2024) ranking and fewer wins than USD, but had already defeated RPI No. 17 Oregon in five sets on September 11.
The teams had not played since 2022 when the Toreros won in four.
“Every time we come and play San Diego State we know it’s going to be a battle,” said USD head coach Jennifer Petrie. “I am really proud of the way our girls were able to be resilient and persevere through it because they gave us a lot to deal with and they are a great team.”
The Match, Unfolded
The Toreros dominated the first set, 25-16, with nine Aztec errors contributing to USD’s set-one victory. In the second, after the Aztecs led by eight, 22-14, the Toreros came back to win 10 of 11 and go up, 24-23. The Aztecs saved two set points but never had one of their own. They failed to save the third set point and lost it, 27-25.
“It was a tough one to lose,” said SDSU head coach Brent Hillard. “That was a moment when we felt like, ‘We should have had that one.’”
Undeterred, the Aztecs began the third with conviction, winning the first eight straight before the Toreros notched a point. The Aztecs dominated on the attack, with 12 kills versus USD’s seven, and four aces to one for USD. Although USD had a five-point run at 23-13, it came too late to make a difference, and the Aztecs took the set, 25-16.
“It was short lived, that moment,” said Hilliard, referencing the second set lapse. “We let them know, ‘Yes it was an opportunity lost,’ but we are looking for people with high character, and people with good character will often times respond to that type of conflict. … They did respond really well so I was proud of them for that.”
The teams stayed close in the fourth until the Aztecs won six of eight points mid set to go up 17-13. The teams mostly traded points from there, and the Aztecs won the set, 25-20. The Aztecs again dominated the attack with 19 kills versus 12 for the Toreros.
In the decider, the Toreros came out strong, winning five of the first six points. The lead was too much for the Aztecs to overcome. The Toreros played a clean, aggressive set, with ten kills and no attack errors, handily winning, 15-9.
“We are a team of fighters,” said SDSU’s Taylor Underwood, who led the team in kills with 19. “I really appreciate all of the work that everyone puts in. Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, I know that we worked really hard to do what we did.”
Nemo Beach led USD with 21 kills, while Isabel Clark racked up 16. After Underwood, SDSU’s Amber Keen and Ella Schabort tallied 12 kills each.
Next Up
“Our eyes are focused on winning the West Coast Conference Championship this year, and getting back to the NCAA tournament, so we have pretty lofty goals and we’re just excited to get our conference started next week,” said Petrie. The Toreros play UCSD tonight at 7 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavilion, and begin WCC play on Sept 25 at Pepperdine. Viewers can watch both on ESPN+.
The Aztecs begin Mountain West Conference play on Sept 25 at Fresno State. Viewers can watch on the Mountain West Network.
*AVCA - American Colleges Volleyball Association
*RPI - Rating Percentage Index used to rank college teams in most sports.