SAN DIEGO – The University of San Diego continued to test itself against some of the nation’s top competition for the volleyball home opener on Thursday night.
Facing No. 8 SMU at the Jenny Craig Pavilion for the Jack Talmadge Classic, the Toreros battled the nationally ranked Mustangs through four sets before falling, 28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21.
The loss dropped USD to 2-2 on the season, while SMU improved to 4-1.
For the Toreros, still in the opening weeks of their season, the matchup offered another early measuring stick. USD arrived at the Talmadge Classic having already tested itself against ranked competition: a loss to No. 21 Baylor at the Wahine Volleyball Classic where every set came down to the wire (26-24, 34-32, 25-23). The Toreros bounced back to close out the weekend strong, taking down Georgia Southern 3-1 and sweeping Hawai'i 3-0.
Once again, USD showed it could stay with a top-10 opponent for stretches of the match.
The tone was set immediately in a back-and-forth opening frame. Neither side was able to create much separation, with the first set featuring 13 ties and four lead changes. SMU eventually escaped with a 28-26 win to take the early advantage.
Instead of allowing the narrow loss to carry into the second set, USD responded.
Freshman Ryann Knuth with the attack.
The Toreros produced their most efficient offensive set of the night, recording 17 kills while hitting .239. USD held SMU to a .209 hitting percentage and earned a 25-22 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
SMU regained control after the break, taking the third set 25-19. The Mustangs hit .321 in the frame while USD struggled to find the same offensive rhythm it had established in the second, finishing with 10 kills and nine attack errors.
Still, the Toreros did not go quietly.
USD recorded 17 kills in the fourth set and hit .250, its best attacking percentage outside the second frame. The Toreros remained within striking distance in another tightly contested set that featured 10 ties, but SMU ultimately pulled away for a 25-21 victory to close the match.
“It's probably one of the tighter groups of athletes that I've had in a long time,” head coach Jennifer Petrie said. “Just being very supportive of each other and celebrating each other's successes. It's just phenomenal.”
Washington transfer Kierstyn Barton led the way for USD with one of her strongest performances of the young season. The outside hitter finished with a match-high 20 kills on a .245 hitting percentage while adding 14 digs and five block assists. Barton accounted for 22.5 points, the highest total by either team.
“The coaches, my teammates, and even the staff and people supporting us have done a really good job to make me feel comfortable, but also play my best,” said Barton, referencing her transition to USD.
She was joined offensively by Ryann Knuth and Nemo Beach, giving USD three players with double-digit kills. Knuth finished with 17 kills and 13 digs, while Beach added 14 kills and nine digs. Ella Fulton contributed five kills on nine attacks for a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
Libero Lauren Lynch with the dig.
Setter Kylie Munday directed the offense with 51 assists and eight digs, while libero Lauren Lynch anchored the Toreros defensively with a match-high 26 digs. USD finished with 70 digs as a team, four more than the Mustangs.
“Tonight's play was good all around. We've really been focusing on our defensive package, and I think that really showed up tonight,” Lynch said. “We really are good enough to beat any top team, so we're just trying to get better every day. I think it's a really good preseason schedule for us to have.”
Where the Toreros struggled the most was in limiting their own mistakes. USD finished with 60 kills, eight more than SMU, but committed 34 attack errors compared with 20 by the Mustangs. Those errors contributed to a .149 overall hitting percentage for USD, while SMU finished .211.
Players signed autographs post-game.
Why the match matters
A loss to the No. 8 team in the country may hurt USD’s record, but the Toreros’ early-season schedule suggests they are looking beyond wins and losses in September.
San Diego has built a challenging nonconference slate filled with programs accustomed to competing on the national stage, and early results suggest the Toreros belong in that conversation. USD has already played then-No. 21 Baylor and No. 8 SMU through its first four matches, with Friday's loss to the Mustangs dropping the team to 2-2. But the scoreline undersells how competitive USD was: the Toreros took the second set outright and kept both the first and fourth within four points, a sign that closing the gap on a top-10 program is well within reach.
And the tests are far from over.
USD will host No. 15 USD today before traveling to Tempe for the Snyder-Park Classic. There, the Toreros will face UC Davis before back-to-back matches against No. 7 Arizona State on September 12 and No. 25 Oregon on the 13th.
In total, five of USD’s 10 nonconference matches come against nationally ranked programs: Baylor, SMU, USC, Arizona State and Oregon. It is a difficult path into West Coast Conference play, but one that gives the Toreros repeated opportunities to compete against the type of teams they hope to see later in the postseason.
“I really like to front-load our preseason like that, just so that the girls do put themselves in challenging situations where they learn how to win at a high level,” Petrie said after the game. “Because you don't want to wait until the end of the season to be challenged, and then wish that you had faced some tougher opponents at the beginning.”
That goal is particularly relevant for a program aiming to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Rather than easing into its West Coast Conference title defense, San Diego is spending September testing itself against nationally ranked competition.
USD takes on the No. 15 Trojans on September 6 at 2 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion or on ESPN+.
