USD Toreros
USD Toreros Women's Volleyball
 
Toreros Host Pepperdine Live on ESPNU Wednesday to Begin Second Half of WCC Play
USD will host Pepperdine on Wednesday on live ESPNU, then host LMU on Saturday.

Ali Troost.
 
Ali Troost.
  

Oct. 26, 2009

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WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE: The 19th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team (14-4, 6-1 WCC) will return to the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion this week for a pair of West Coast Conference matches. On Wednesday, the Toreros will take on Pepperdine University in a 7 p.m. nationally televised match on ESPNU. The on Saturday, the Toreros will square off against Loyola Marymount University in a 1 p.m. match.

LAST TIME OUT: The Toreros posted a 2-0 record this past week to run its winning streak to five, as they picked up a pair of 3-1 wins over Gonzaga and Portland. In Thursday's win over Gonzaga, Torey Ellick paced USD's offense as she racked up 15 kills on 25 attempts, while committing no attack errors to post a .600 attack percentage. Ali Troost recorded a match-best 18 kills on 31 swings, while committing three attack errors to post a .484 attack percentage and Amber Tatsch recorded 11 kills, while hitting at a .285 clip. Kelsi Myers recorded 54 assists in helping direct the team to a season-high .390 attack percentage. In Saturday's win over Portland, Troost recorded her 20 kills on 40 swings, while committing four attack errors to hit for a .400 clip. Ellick was the second USD player in double digit kills as she racked up 18 kills on 38 attempts, while committing six errors to post a .316 attack percentage. Freshman outside hitter Carrie Baird recorded 10 kills and had no errors to post a .500 attack percentage, and she also racked up 10 digs to post a double-double. Junior setter Kelsi Myers recorded 51 assists and added in 13 digs to post her fourth double-double of the season, while helping steer the USD offense to a .362 attack percentage.

SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine enters the match with an overall record of 11-9 and are 4-3 in the WCC after dropping a pair of 3-2 matches to San Francisco and Santa Clara this past week. The Waves lead the all-time series at 35-16, including taking the first match-up this season, a 3-0 win in Malibu, handing the Toreros their only WCC loss of the season. The Waves' offense is run through senior outside hitter Rachel Grochmal, who has a team-leading 216 kills (3.21 kps) and is hitting at a .207 clip. Grochmal is also second on the team with 187 digs. The Pepperdine floor leader is senior setter Kiah Fiers, who has a team-best 734 assists, while directing the team to a .229 attack percentage. The Waves are under the direction of 27th-year head coach Nina Matthies. During her tenure in Malibu, Matthies has posted an overall record of 505-303.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount enters the week with an overall record of 10-11 and are 1-6 in the WCC after dropping a 3-1 decision to Santa Clara, then bouncing back with a 3-1 win over San Francisco this past week. The Lions lead the all-time series at 36-20, but USD captured the first meeting 3-2 in Los Angeles earlier this season. Freshman outside hitter/opposite Alaina Bergsma leads the offensive charge for the Lions with her team-leading 318 kills (4.24 kps) and she is hitting at a .216 clip. The floor leader for LMU is sophomore setter Alesha Young, who has 632 assists , while helping steer the Lions offense to a .232 team attack percentage. The Lions are under the direction of 20th-yerar head coach Steve Stratos. During his tenure in Los Angeles, Stratos has posted an overall record of 382-206.

THE POLLS: The Toreros moved up three spots to No. 19 in the latest AVCA top-25 poll after racking up a pair of wins over Gonzaga and Portland to run their winning streak to five. Neither Pepperdine or Loyola Marymount are ranked in any of the top-25 polls this week.

TOREROS LIVE ON ESPNU: Wednesday's match against Pepperdine will be televised live on ESPNU. The first 300 fans to the match will receive a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich. This marks the fourth consecutive season the Toreros have appeared on a nationally televised match, and USD has posted a 3-1 record in these matches, defeating LMU 3-1 on October 7, 2006, then dropping a 3-1 decision to Santa Clara on October 4, 2007, and picked up a 3-1 win over Santa Clara on October 16, 2008. Anne Marie Anderson will be calling all the play-by-play for the match with Krista Blunk providing color analysis.

GOING STREAKING: San Diego is currently riding a five-match winning streak after defeating Gonzaga and Portland this past week. During this streak, USD is hitting .322 as a team, while the Torero defense is holding opponents to a .226 attack percentage. During these five matches, six different players have recorded double digit kills, paced by Ali Troost's 93. The Toreros will look to extend their winning streak this week when they host Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

SOLID & RELIABLE: Naturally teams will look to their upper classmen for that extra motivation and to push themselves the extra mile, and junior right side Ali Troost fits the bill perfectly for San Diego. Through the first 15 matches of the season, Troost leads the team 249 kills (3.61 kps), is third on the team in digs with 120 and is second on the team in blocks with 34.

NATION'S ELITE: Junior setter Kelsi Myers is currently ranked second in the nation in assists per set (12.19). Myers recorded a career-high in assists on Nov. 17 in a win over UC Irvine, when she racked up 63. On the season, Myers has now recorded 841 assists and has helped steer the USD offense to a .278. Myers has also been busy on the defensive side of things, as she is tied for second on the team with 132 digs.

ELLICK CONTINUES HOT STREAK: Senior middle hitter Torey Ellick continues to be one of the hottest Toreros over the post couple of weeks. Ellick posted yet another solid week as she racked up 33 kills on 63 attempts, while only recording six attacking errors to post a .429 hitting percentage in USD's wins over Gonzaga and Portland. Over the past five matches, Ellick has been red hot as she has recorded 78 kills, while hitting at a .441 clip. On the season, Ellick is second on the team with 215 kills, is hitting at a .377 clip and leads the team with 50 blocks.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: With senior outside hitter Amy Mahinalani DeGroot having to take a medical redshirt this season, the Torero coaching staff was forced to play two freshman outside hitters, and the result has been positive. Amber Tatsch and Carrie Baird took a few matches to get their feet wet, but since the start of conference play they have been huge for the Toreros. In WCC matches, Baird has recorded 61 kills while hitting at a .314 clip, and Tatsch is not far being with 49 kills. Each have recorded double-doubles, and each have led the team's offense in a match for most kills. This dynamic duo have helped propel the Toreros into a tie for first place in the WCC, half way through conference play.

TOREROS TABBED AS FAVORIATES TO WIN WCC: Fresh off its fourth conference championship in the last five years, the University of San Diego has once again been selected as the preseason favorite to take home the 2009 West Coast Conference regular season title. The Toreros, who will be returning five starters from last year's squad, received the maximum seven first place votes for a total of 49 points. Head Coach Jennifer Petrie returns the reigning WCC Player of the Year in Amy Mahinalani DeGroot as well as Ali Troost, both of whom were named to the preseason all-conference team, also selected by the league's head coaches.

DEGROOT TO REDSHIRT IN 2009: San Diego senior outside hitter Amy Mahinalani DeGroot will sit out the 2009 season with a medical redshirt. Last season, DeGroot led the team with 392 kills (4.22 kps) and was second in digs with 231 en route to being named the WCC Player of the Year and earning an All-America honorable mention honor from the AVCA. DeGroot will return in the 2010 season.

THE COACH: 11th-Year head coach Jennifer Petrie has done an outstanding job directing the fortunes of San Diego volleyball since taking over as the Toreros head coach in 1999. Honored as the 2004 and 2008 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Petrie continues to establish the University of San Diego as one of the top volleyball programs in the nation. In nine complete seasons as head coach, Petrie has led San Diego to seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008) with her 2004 team reaching the Sweet-16.

LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION: All USD home matches, as well as select road matches, will be streamed live via video on the athletics department website. Fans can watch all the action live from the comfort of their home by logging onto usdtoreros.com. There is no cost for this service. The Toreros will also be adding in a live play-by-play with the home video stream this season, as Paul Duchesne will be calling all the action.

GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: All San Diego volleyball home and select road matches can be followed live via Gametracker on the Toreros athletic web site at www.usdtoreros.com. Gametracker is a service of CBS College Sports, the official web provider for San Diego athletics, and is a real time update of the action.