by SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Behind a career-high 31 kills from junior middle hitter Lisa Kramer, the University of San Diego women’s volleyball team picked up a 3-2 win over Pepperdine University, Tuesday evening in a West Coast Conference match at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
With the 28-26, 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13 win, the Toreros improve to 9-5 overall, and remain perfect in WCC play at 3-0. With the loss, the Waves fall to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the WCC. Pepperdine has also now lost seven straight to the Toreros.
Kramer became the first Torero to record 30 or more kills in a match during the 25-point rally scoring era of NCAA volleyball, and she is the first Torero to record 30 or more kills in a match since Kristen Carlson did it on Nov. 2, 2006, in a win against Loyola Marymount. Kramer recorded her 31 kills on 79 swings, while committing 13 errors to hit for a .228 clip, and she recorded seven digs and had two blocks. The career-highs didn’t stop with Kramer, as Canace Finley also recorded a career-high with 21 kills, and Lauren Schad (Cheyenne River Sioux) had a career-high 18 kills, while hitting .412 for the night. Kristen Gengenbacher had a career-high with 68 assists, while also recording 14 digs to post a double-double. More career-highs came on the defensive side of things as well, with Lizzy Tardieu racking up a career-high 11 digs, and Hunter Jennings added in 22 more digs.
As a team, USD hit .218, while Pepperdine hit for a .280 clip. The Waves out blocked the Toreros 10.5-8.0.
For the Waves, Heidi Dyer led the way, as she recorded 19 kills on 53 swings, while committing two errors to hit for a .321 clip. Tarah Wylie was the only other Wave in double digit kills, as she had 10. Becca Strehlow recorded 51 assists, and had 16 digs to post a double-double, and Lara Dykstra added in a team-best 18 digs.
In the first set, it was a back and forth affair right out of the gates, as both teams took their turn with the lead, and neither team led by more than three. Then with the score knotted at 15-all, the Waves went on a 3-0 run to take an 18-15 lead, forcing USD into a timeout. Out of the break, a Merve Tanyel kill sparked a 4-2 USD run, pulling the Toreros to within one at 20-19, forcing Pepperdine to take a timeout. USD would then manage to tie things up at 21, and again at 22, before the Waves took set point at 24-22 on a USD attack error. San Diego didn’t panic, as they grabbed the next two points to tie things up again at 24-all. The two teams then traded points, before back-to-back Kramer kills gave USD the 28-26 win.
In the second set, it was close in the early going, then the Waves managed to take control midway through the frame, and built up a 17-13 lead to force USD into a timeout. USD could not close the gap any further then three for the remainder of the frame, and Pepperdine managed to even things up at one set a piece with a 25-21 win.
After USD fell in set three 25-20, they had their back against the wall and responded with a 25-21 win. With USD trailing 12-9, a Kramer kill sparked by a 9-5 Torero run, which gave USD back the lead at 18-17. USD never looked back, as they then held off the Waves trading point-for-point over the reminder of the frame, with USD not surrendering the lead, and forcing a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth frame, it was a back and forth affair throughout the entire set. Then late in the frame, the Waves would tie things up at 13-all on a USD attack error. Not to worry though, as kills by Schad and Finley gave USD the final two points to claim the thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win.
The Toreros will return to action on Friday, as they host No. 15 BYU in a 7:30 p.m. WCC match inside of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
