A Job Well Done Toreros

San Diego’s historic run in the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Tournament was a year in the making. After exiting in the first round a year prior, the Toreros sought to change the narrative. It started with an offseason that emphasized championship mindset and hard work. With all the pieces in place, San Diego put the country on notice after a dominant regular season performance. 

After winning the WCC regular season title and earning a No. 2 seed in the tournament, USD was poised to be on college volleyball’s biggest stage. And when the time came to prove that they deserved to be there, they did just that.

Fifth-year senior and WCC Player of the Year Katie Lukes reflected on her time at San Diego, reveling in the pride of a job well done. Lukes spent all five years at San Diego, a testament to the idea that patience and hard work can change the course of a team and of a program. “I was there for four years before we even made the Final Four,” Lukes shared, “ It took a lot of belief and a lot of patience to get to where we were.” 

Prior to this year, the furthest any San Diego team had gone in the NCAA Tournament was the Sweet Sixteen. Lukes herself had been to four tournaments and one Sweet Sixteen prior to this year. With a record-breaking season already in the cards for the Toreros, they were ready to break some more. San Diego claimed their first ever Elite Eight appearance after sweeping Kentucky in three sets and they were hungry for more. “Once we got that winning feeling over teams that some didn’t think we could, it became addictive”, Lukes admitted. 

In uncharted territory, Lukes recalled the moment that everyone saw. Late in the fourth set against Stanford in the Elite Eight, it was clear the Toreros were playing at a level that can only be described as "we’re not losing." 

“I think if you watch that game back, the fourth set we were down by two, 22-20, and at that moment you’re like, ‘is this about to end?’ she admitted. But that wouldn’t be the case. In a moment that was described as do or die, San Diego fought back to defy the odds against No. 1 seed Stanford. “I think once we were gritty and fought off that fourth set, I thought, ‘okay, this is going to be our match,” she explained, “I just knew it, the way we had that momentum going into that fifth set, it’s like, ’okay we got here, we might as well win the thing now.' It was a surreal moment.”

The Elite Eight went five sets and the match point led to a wave of Toreros storming the court at Stanford in a moment of pure joy. They had made history once more. Lukes tried to capture that moment, but understandably so, it was something hard to describe. “Every year we said ‘we have bigger dreams,' one to make it to the Final Four,” she admitted. “ You never really think that’s going to happen to you, you know?”

So when the time finally came, Lukes described it as a moment of completeness. All the hard work that was put in combined with the support of their coaches, each other and the San Diego faithful paid back tenfold. “It was a surreal moment,” Lukes shared. “We knew we had more to go, but in that moment, [getting into the Final Four] it was like what we had all been talking about.”

A few days later,  the sunny San Diego Toreros saw themselves descending into Omaha, Nebraska. One of four remaining teams, the Toreros got to do what many teams dream about - compete for a national title on college volleyball's biggest stage. “I loved playing on the big stage, it was really cool,” Lukes shared. “We don’t get to do that a lot, being a smaller school, so we were so grateful for the opportunity.”

They weren’t the only ones to make the journey. Family and fans alike made the trip out to Omaha to cheer on their Toreros. “We have really loyal fans, especially family, but this year has been crazy. The support that we had, we had a lot of fans rooting for us in the end,” Lukes shared. “It was awesome to represent San Diego like that.” 

The road ended in Omaha in the Final Four for the Toreros, but this season created memories that will last a lifetime. “To say I got to go [to Omaha] in my final season and my final travel trip was really cool,” Lukes said. “It’s nice to have that history now to inspire the teams ahead of us with ‘we’ve been there before." She ended with a final sentiment on a historic season for the Toreros - “I am proud to be an alum now and to be part of this special group that made history.”