HISTORIC SPIKE HAS USD TRENDING UPWARD
Leap taken by 2022 team to Final Four has Petrie looking at a bright future
The morning after the University of San Diego’s most successful women’s volleyball season came to an end with a loss to No. 1-ranked Texas at the Final Four, Toreros head coach Jennifer Petrie packed her belongings.
There was more to squeeze into her bags for the charter flight home than she brought to Omaha, Neb. The glass trophy she received as the national coach of the year no doubt was handled with care.
Asked where the trophy’s resting place will be, Petrie said, “It’s going in my office, as I look back at one of the most memorable seasons thus far for USD.”
To Petrie, the operative words in that statement were “thus far.”
She loses three All-Americans off a team that finished 31-2, the only two losses coming to Texas and Louisville, the participants in tonight’s national championship.
But despite losing the All-Americans, plus five of the top seven rotation players, Petrie was confident looking ahead.
Said the woman heading into her 25th season as USD’s head coach, “It’s not a rebuild. It’s a reload.”
The departing All-Americans are setter Gabby Blossom (first team), opposite hitter Grace Frohling (second team) and outside hitter Katie Lukes (third team).
The Toreros lose their top three kill leaders. Returning will be La Jolla High product Leyla Blackwell, who ranked fourth in kills, and Mission Hills’ Haylee Stoner, who ranked fifth.
But to Petrie, the challenge ahead is nothing new.
“This isn’t different than any other year,” said Petrie. “We’ve had a lot of All-Americans, a lot of players who have led us to national tournaments. It’s not about replacing. It’s about finding the right pieces that are going to continue the legacy of USD.”
The new talent will come from three sources: players currently on the roster, high school freshmen and the transfer portal.
“We have kids waiting in the wings for their opportunity to shine,” said Petrie.
“This team ... raised the bar, showed the potential is there for us. Now, that’s what we want to chase for future Toreros to come.” Jennifer Petrie • USD women’s volleyball coach
Those players expected to rise to likely starters include 6-foot-4 outside hitter Annika Hester and 6-2 outside hitter Kylie Pries. Petrie has signed two highly recruited freshmen, outside hitters Neomi Beach (Chandler, Ariz.) and Ella Durham (Dublin, Ohio).
The most difficult player to replace will be Blossom. The Penn State transfer arrived last January and almost immediately elevated the team’s skill with her ability to deliver sets from every spot on the floor.
Look for USD to search the portal for a new setter.
“The transfer portal, definitely it’s not going away,” said Petrie. “There’s big shoes to fill, not just athletically but culturally, too.”
USD’s 2022 season featured the program’s first trip to the Final Four, and coming back, on Stanford’s floor, to beat the Cardinal to earn that trip to the Final Four.
Previously, the deepest USD advanced in the tournament was the Sweet 16.
The season featured a 28match win streak, an 18-0 West Coast Conference run, 20 sweeps, including 13 in a row, rising to No. 2 in the nation, three All-Americans for the first time and Petrie’s coach of the year award.
“The most magical thing about this season,” said Petrie, “is that every year we were talking about raising the bar, getting back to the Sweet 16, then breaking that echelon. This team did that. It raised the bar, showed the potential is there for us.
“Now, that’s what we want to chase for future Toreros to come.”