By the time the final regular-season match arrived, the Toreros had already clinched the West Coast Conference title. They had earned an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. They were 17-0 in conference play. Their RPI was a solid 29 of 348 Division 1 volleyball teams.
One could argue that there wasn’t much to play for.
Except there was. There was no pressure and all the pressure.
The Toreros wanted, badly, one final victory to add one more adjective to their already exceptional conference play: undefeated.
San Diego got what it wanted, putting an exclamation mark on what has been a fairy tale 18-0 conference season.
The ways they won were also remarkable. The ten 3-0 sweeps were impressive. Perhaps moreso were their four five-set victories. The first two were reverse sweeps. The Toreros were down 2-0 against both Loyola Marymount and Washington State, but the never-say-die Toreros won three straight sets to win those matches.
They also had a smidgen of good luck. Against St. Mary’s and down two sets to one, they faced a match point at 25-24. After an attack error by the Gaels tied the set, the Toreros won the next two to preserve their undefeated conference play.
On Saturday, San Diego closed its season with a decisive 3–1 win over Gonzaga (20–25, 25–10, 25–7, 25–12), sealing an extraordinary march through the WCC on a night that blended dominance with tenderness.
“To go 18–0 is really, really hard,” Athletic Director Kimya Massey said. “I hope people realize how challenging that is, even if you are the best team. Being able to do that day after day, clinching (on Nov. 20), and staying focused on the goal.”
The final game, also senior night, began with a family moment: middle blocker Kali Engeman’s grandparents stepped to center court to sing the national anthem. It ended with five seniors being honored. And in the middle, USD showed why it is one of the most dominant teams in the nation.
Weathering the First Set
The Toreros dropped the opening frame, but head coach Jennifer Petrie knew exactly what her message needed to be.
“I said, ‘we just have to get back to our good,’” she recalled. “Everybody wants to beat the champion … so we have to weather that and just return to our volleyball.”
Kennedy Osunsanmi echoed a common refrain from the coach and players this season. “Something that this team does really well, we’re able to play from behind and ahead,” she said. “So being able to bounce back and take the next three sets was our normal, consistent [play]. When you have teammates you can trust, it’s easy to play with confidence.”
They did, unleashing three straight lights-out sets in which they hit .611, .522, and .375, turning a shaky start into a clinical finish.
Nemo Beach, Osunsanmi, and Isabel Clark led the team in kills with 13, 11, and 8 respectively. Setter Kylie Munday had 34 assists, five aces, nine digs, and four kills, while libero Olivia Bennett posted a team-high 17 digs.
A Dynasty
You know a program is a dynasty when its list of NCAA tournament bids spill past one wide flag and onto a second that is already running out of space.
Inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday, that lineage expanded again.
In her 27 seasons, Petrie has led USD to the NCAA Tournament 23 times, more than any other Division I team in San Diego across any sport, men’s or women’s.
“The legacy of USD volleyball is bigger than any one of us,” Petrie said. “We’re just fortunate to be the ones carrying the torch right now.”
A Senior Class That Lived the Standard
Bennett, a senior, said the undefeated finish brought her career full circle. Bennett is one of three players who were on the team in 2022 when the Toreros made it to the NCAA Final Four.
“This was a core memory for me,” Bennett said. “USD has always felt like family. Love and grace is what this program is built on.”
Seniors contributed both on the floor and from the bench, continuing the tradition of leadership Petrie calls “essential” to the program’s culture. They included Engeman, Grace Oliva, Kinley Swan, and Maya Kitna, who has been sidelined with an injury for most of the season.
As the seniors posed for photos and family and underclassmen wrapped them in hugs, there was the unmistakable feeling of completion, but also anticipation.
The regular season completed, the Toreros now look forward to NCAA tournament play. They play Kansas State on Friday at 2:30 p.m. PT in the volleyball mecca Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the overall No. 1 seed undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game will air on ESPN+.