SAN DIEGO - Still in the opening weeks of their women’s volleyball season, the USD Toreros met No. 15 USC Trojans for the second match of the 2026 Jack Talmadge Volleyball Classic. After losing to No. 8 SMU on Friday, USD was unable to climb back up and lost the midafternoon matchup 3-0, making their record 2-3, with each loss coming from a ranked opponent. Despite Sunday’s loss, outside hitter Nemo Beach hit 1,000 career kills in front of 1,247 at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
"It's one of the goals I wanted to conquer this season,” said Beach. “Another goal is to become an All-American again. I'm trying to do my best to really put myself in that position and put my best foot forward. Another goal is to win the WCC tournament and make it as far as possible [in the NCAA tournament].”
The USD season thus far has been full of top competitors. An initial loss to No. 21 Baylor preceded two wins against Georgia Southern and Hawaii. Friday’s loss to the Mustangs featured four sets, with the Toreros denying a full sweep. The Toreros are now 4-14 all-time against the Trojans. They last met exactly one year ago, Sept. 6, 2025 when the Trojans beat USD 3-2. It has been five years since USD defeated the Trojans.
Set One
USC gained an early lead in the first set, but the Toreros were able to hold their own, never letting the point differential extend more than one to two points. USC began to pull away with five kills to go up 19-14. The Toreros closed the gap to 22-24 with back-to-back kills by Emma Brewer. Beach followed with a kill of her own, putting the Toreros down by only one. Unfortunately, a set-high seventh kill by USC’s London Wijay cost USD the first set, 23-25. The Toreros finished the set with 13 kills on 42 attacks, 12 assists and 15 digs.
Set Two
USD again managed to stay close to the Trojans early in the second set, tying the score at 7-7 with a kill by Beach. Kylie Munday, named WCC Setter of the Week for Aug. 31st, had her 14th assist of the match allowing the Toreros to stay tied at 11-11. However, USC again started to pull ahead and the Toreros could not keep up. Now down 17-13, a USD attack error coupled with four back-to-back kills from USC made the score 22-13. The Trojans closed out the set with three consecutive points, 25-13.
Set Three
With little time left to respond, the Toreros won the first two points before a kill by USC broke the mini-streak. However, two quick kills by BayLea Sparks gave USD another two points. A pattern of win two, lose one continued on until USC managed to get three points in a row, tying the score, 6-6. The initially revived Toreros kept a tied score, always responding when the Trojans would relentlessly attempt to break ahead through 14-13, USC up by one. Three consecutive Trojan kills grew the gap to 21-15. USD crawled back to within a point, 22-21, with a Sparks kill, a USC attack error, a Beach kill and another two USC attack errors. However, those points were not enough. The Trojans scored the next three points to win the set 25-21.
"We want to challenge ourselves in the preseason and play some of the biggest and most challenging teams we can,” head coach Jennifer Petrie said after the match. “ We want to return to be West Coast Conference Champions. And so having a really tough and challenging preseason is one way to learn a lot about yourself early.”
Beach had a team-high 31 total attacks and seven kills (tied with Kierstyn Barton). Libero Lauren Lynch led the way with 14 digs, while Munday had 23 of the 26 total assists of the match.
Next up for the Toreros is the Snyder-Park Classic in Tempe, Ariz. USD will play UC Davis, No. 7 Arizona State, and No. 24 Oregon next weekend. The team will return to Jenny Craig Pavilion for seven consecutive home games beginning on Sept. 17 against Arizona, before a crosstown rivalry game against San Diego State on Sept. 19.
