MORAGA, Calif. — Redshirt senior outside hitter Katie Lukes erupted for a match and season-high 19 kills on Saturday afternoon at Saint Mary's, leading No. 4 San Diego volleyball (17-1, 8-0 WCC) to a 3-0 sweep of the Gaels (6-10, 3-5 WCC) that marked the Toreros' sixth straight sweep and 14th consecutive victory overall.

USD took the first set by a score of 25-22, won the second by a decisive 25-11 margin, then sealed the sweep with a 25-15 win in the third.

Lukes, who hit a robust .586 in the match, headlined a dominant offensive effort for USD, one that saw San Diego outhit SMC .440 to .260.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-22

• The Toreros began Saturday afternoon's first set in strong fashion, racing to an early 4-1 lead via two kills from Lukes, one from junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School), and a service ace from junior libero/defensive specialist Madi Allen (Great Oak High School).
• Saint Mary's cut the deficit to just two midway through the frame at 12-10, then an SMC service error and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) pushed the USD lead back to four at 14-10.
• San Diego's advantage stretched to as many as six at 22-16 on a service ace from graduate transfer setter Gabby Blossom (Penn State) before a late Saint Mary's surge made things interesting.
• Leading by just three at 23-20 after a USD attack error, Lukes stepped up and delivered a clutch, powerful kill to bring the frame to set point at 24-20.
• The Gaels kept fighting with a pair of points down the stretch to stave off the loss and make it 24-22, but Lukes found her mark one last time to seal it, earning her team a 25-22 win in set one with a kill to push the Toreros ahead 1-0 in the match over Saint Mary's.

First Set Notables:

• Lukes: Six kills (.444) and a dig
• Blossom: 13 assists, one service ace, and one dig
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: Four digs

Second Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-11

• Though the Gaels struck first and kept things close early on, Saturday's second set marked USD's most dominant showing of the afternoon — and San Diego's second-most dominant frame of the season (October 6 vs. San Francisco, 25-8).
• Back-and-forth play persisted up to an 8-8 tie, then the Toreros broke through on a kill from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling and began to create space.
• The USD lead swelled to four points at 15-11 on a kill from graduate transfer setter Breana Edwards (Indiana) before junior outside hitter Kylie Pries made it 17-11 with a service ace.
• San Diego held the Gaels scoreless for the remainder of the set, embarking on an 8-0 run that featured kills from Stoner and Edwards and a remarkable three more service aces from Pries to secure a striking 25-11 victory in set two that pushed it ahead 2-0 in the match.

Second Set Notables:

• Lukes: Seven kills (.636), one service ace, one dig
• Edwards: Three kills (.400)
• Pries: Five service aces and a dig
• Blossom: 13 assists and a block assist
• Freshman libero/defensive specialist Olivia Bennett: Three digs
• Benbow: Three digs
• Frohling: Two kills (.333), one service ace, and one dig

Third Set - No. 4 San Diego, 25-15

• Saint Mary's jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Saturday's third and final set but never led again, with their short-lived advantage quickly erased by a flurry of San Diego points.
• Lukes found her mark first to tie it, then Frohling chipped in with a kill to put her team back in front. Two more kills from Lukes followed to build USD a 5-2 lead.
• San Diego stretched its lead to seven midway through the frame at 13-6 on a Blackwell kill, a mark that remained the Toreros' largest of the set until Lukes put USD up eight later on at 21-13 with another kill.
• A service ace from Blossom pushed it to nine at 22-13, then a kill from Frohling and one final score from Stoner sealed it — a 25-15 Torero win in Saturday's third set that earned San Diego a 3-0 sweep of Saint Mary's at the UCU Pavilion.

Third Set Notables:

• Lukes: Six kills (.667), one assist, and one dig
• Frohling: Four kills (.800) and a dig
• Stoner: Four kills (1.000)
• Blossom: 15 assists, two service aces, one dig, and two block assists
• Benbow: Six digs and an assist

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes paced Saturday afternoon's match with 19 kills, hitting .586 as she added an assist, a service ace, and two digs.
• She has now either led or been tied for the team lead in kills in nine of the Toreros' last 10 matches. The lone match in which she did not lead USD in kills she was just one point shy of teammate Grace Frohling (October 8 vs. Santa Clara). Lukes has led the match as a whole in kills in eight of USD's last 10 contests.
• Frohling was next with eight kills while hitting .417, chipping in a pair of service aces to go with three digs.
• Stoner tallied seven kills while hitting a match-best .667, also contributing two block assists.
• Blackwell rounded out San Diego's scoring with four kills (.286) to go with a single block assist.
• Blossom recorded a match-high 41 assists alongside three service aces, two digs, and three block assists. She has totaled 30 or more assists in 15 of the Toreros' 17 matches so far in 2022, including a season-high 53 in San Diego's 3-2 win over No. 8 Pitt on August 26.
• Benbow had a match-high 13 digs and two assists.
• Bennett totaled six digs on Saturday, just one shy of her career high of seven that she set back on August 28 versus Hawaii.
• Pries had a match and career-high five service aces alongside two digs. It's the most service aces by a San Diego player this season and is the second-most aces that any active Torero has accumulated in one match (Grace Frohling, Six, 11/2/19 vs. Saint Mary's).
• USD out-hit the Gaels .440 to .260.
• San Diego has now won 14 consecutive matches, a stint that dates back to September 3rd's sweep of No. 8 Ohio State at the Cardinal Classic.
• The Toreros have swept each of their last six matches in a row. USD last lost a set in September 24th's 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount.
• San Diego has won in straight sets in 12 of its 17 matches so far in 2022.

UP NEXT
The Toreros return home next Friday (October 21) for a crucial West Coast Conference matchup with rival No. 12 BYU. First serve at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m.