Athletics Roundup: Traditional Fall Sports Teams Announce WCC Winter/Spring 2021 Schedules

University of San Diego Athletics, via the West Coast Conference, revealed that its traditional fall sports teams — women’s volleyball, men and women’s soccer — will play West Coast Conference matches starting in January and February, respectively.

Women’s Volleyball

Conference Schedule Revealed

San Diego volleyball will play an 18-match conference schedule beginning Jan. 26 at Gonzaga and ending Mar. 27 at home against Pepperdine, as announced Friday by the West Coast Conference.

Rather than nine home-and-home series, the conference slate will see each team face off in a pair of matches on back-to-back days at a single designated site. Travel partners will face each other once at each team's home gym.

The Toreros will begin the season at Gonzaga Jan. 26 and 27, traveling four more times to take on Santa Clara, Pacific, Loyola Marymount and BYU. USD finished with a 10-0 record against those opponents last season.

San Diego will host Portland in its home opener Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, welcoming four other teams to the Jenny Craig Pavilion including Saint Mary's, San Francisco, BYU and Pepperdine. The Toreros finished 13-1 at home in 2019.

USD continues an early February homestand, hosting Saint Mary's on Feb. 9 and 10 before traveling to Santa Clara Feb. 16 and 17.

The Toreros will host San Francisco Feb. 23 and 24, before back-to-back road trips to Pacific March 5 and 6, and Loyola Marymount March 12 and 13.

San Diego faces its travel partner, BYU, at home on March 19 and in Provo, Utah on March 20.

The Toreros will celebrate their seniors in the final regular season matchup at home against Pepperdine on March 26 and 27.

The WCC has open dates April 2 and 3 before the 2021 NCAA Selection Show takes place April 4.
 
In 2019, the Toreros ran through the conference schedule finishing 17-1 and earning their 11th conference title and automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. In its 10th-straight Tournament appearance, USD knocked off No. 23 Washington State in the opening round before falling to No. 18 Hawaii in Manoa, Hawaii.
 
In August, the WCC announced the postponement of all fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The NCAA later announced that the women's volleyball season would span from Jan. 22-April 3. The final site of the championship is scheduled for April 22-24, with a 48-team bracket. Thirty-two teams will be automatic qualifiers, with 16 at-large selections.

The Toreros return nine letter winners, including All-America Honorable Mention, Grace Frohling. USD also adds three incoming freshmen to head coach Jennifer Petrie's squad that finished 25-6 last season. Thana Fayad, Cami May and Roxie Wiblin represent the senior class.

The non-conference schedule for the 2021 spring season, along with game times and broadcast plans for the WCC schedule, will be announced at a later date.

USD will continue to follow local, state and federal health regulations in determining attendance at home games this season due to the ongoing pandemic. More information regarding fans and protocols inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion will be released at a later date.

Men’s Soccer

Conference Schedule Announced

The West Coast Conference has set a 2021 men's soccer schedule, it was announced on Friday. San Diego men's soccer will open Feb. 28.

The Toreros look to build off a successful 2019 season, which saw San Diego ranked among the top 25 in the nation, climbing as high as No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. USD finished 12-5-1 overall.

San Diego opens the WCC slate on the road for the third straight year with a match against Pacific, before returning home to Torero Stadium on March 7 against St. Mary's.
 
The longest road stretch covers two games March 14 and 21 at San Francisco and LMU, respectively. San Diego will host Portland before traveling to Spokane, Wash. to face Gonzaga.
 
The Toreros close out WCC play at home against Santa Clara on April 11.
 
USD will feature nine newcomers, six of which are freshmen, among its group of experienced returners including seniors George West, Jimmy Ryan, Ross Meldrum and Aaron Frey.

Match times will be determined at a later date, and the schedule is subject to change.

Women’s Soccer

Conference Schedule Set

The West Coast Conference has set the 2021 women's soccer schedule, it was announced on Friday. Conference play is set to begin Feb. 20.

The WCC will conduct a modified nine-week women's soccer schedule with games each Saturday from Feb. 20 through April 17. San Diego women's soccer looks to improve upon a 4-5-0 conference record in 2019 and 8-9-1 overall.

The Toreros will open WCC play inside Torero Stadium against BYU for the first home conference opener since 2018. USD travels to LMU on Feb. 27 before returning home to face Gonzaga on March 6.

San Diego's longest home stretch will consist of two games against USF and Portland on March 20 and 27, respectively. The longest road stretch in conference play also spans two games, April 3 and 10 at Pepperdine and Pacific.

The 2021 regular season closes against Santa Clara on April 17.

San Diego will have seven newcomers, with six freshmen and one transfer in goalkeeper Judith Sorribes.

Match times will be determined at a later date. The schedule is subject to change.

USD will continue to follow local, state and federal health regulations in determining attendance at home games this season due to the ongoing pandemic. More information regarding fans and protocols inside Torero Stadium will be released at a later date.

Football

PFL in Favor of Spring Season

The move to winter and spring months for traditional fall sports follows the recent announcement that USD football and the Pioneer Football League, its coaches, athletic directors and Presidents Council, are all in favor of having an abbreviated spring football season.

Women’s Basketball and Men’s Basketball

Seasons Begin in December

The men and women’s basketball seasons are finally expected to get underway in the coming days. The women’s basketball team will open its 2020-21 season against San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in Jenny Craig Pavilion. The men’s team travels to Los Angeles’ Pauley Pavilion to face UCLA on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. Both teams have a handful of nonconference games before starting WCC play later this month.

Games are subject to change.

USD Athletics Updates

Keep up with all USD Athletics news, scores and information at its website. Follow the Toreros on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. See videos on its YouTube channel.