SAN DIEGO—No. 18 San Diego got its fifth sweep of the season, taking the series opener over San Francisco, 3-0, on Wednesday afternoon in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The Toreros (9-0, 9-0 WCC) were led by Katie Lukes and Roxie Wiblin with 16 and 14 kills respectively. Lukes hit .317 in her season debut and Wiblin recorded her sixth double-double of the season, adding 10 digs.
 
Defensively, San Diego remained dominant, holding the Dons (5-4, 5-4 WCC) to a .134 hitting percentage. The Toreros were led in the back-court by Annie Benbow who finished the day with 18 of USD's 59 digs. Grace Frohling chipped in 10 and Laura Madill added eight. Gabby Goddard put up an impressive showing at the net, getting involved in all six of USD's team blocks including two solo stops.
 
Madill also directed the offense to a .256 hitting percentage, collecting 34 assists on the day.
 
The Toreros got off to a slow start, falling behind 6-2 early in the first set. USD then rattled off four consecutive points including back-to-back kills from Lukes to pull even at 6-6. The teams traded points all the way to an 18-18 tie, before USF pulled away with a two-point advantage. After trailing 23-22, USD outscored the Dons 5-1 down the stretch to take the first set, 26-24.
 
It was all Dons to start the second frame, taking an early 11-6 lead. The Toreros answered with a 15-3 run behind four kills from Wiblin and three from Lukes to take a commanding 21-14 lead. USF got two in a row to pull within five, but USD closed out the set with four-straight points to make it 25-16 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
USD jumped out to a 5-0 lead to begin the final set finished by back-to-back kills from Lukes. The Dons answered with a 5-point run of their own to pull even at 6-6. The teams again battled through the middle of the set, trading points to a 13-13 tie. USD created a bit of space at 18-14 but the Dons answered again to pull even 20-20. Two kills from Wiblin and a USF attack error gave the Toreros match point 24-21. San Francisco put up two points to make it 24-23 but Wiblin closed out the set and the match with her 14th kill of the day.
 
The Toreros will remain in the JCP for the second match of the series with San Francisco on Thursday at 12 p.m. PT.