SAN DIEGO — Seventeen kills from Katie Lukes led No. 3 San Diego volleyball (20-1, 11-0 WCC) to its 17th consecutive win on Saturday afternoon in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a 3-0 sweep of visiting Gonzaga (5-18, 1-11 WCC) that saw Lukes reach 1,200 career kills in what marked the Toreros' shortest match (1:17) of 2022.

USD took the first set by a 25-12 margin, beat the Bulldogs 25-11 in the second, then finished with a 25-14 win in the third to secure a 3-0 sweep.

Lukes' dynamic performance headlined a well-rounded, dominant effort for San Diego in all facets of the match, one that included out-hitting the Zags .584 to .083 as the Toreros out-blocked the visitors 9 to 2. Seven San Diego players hit .300 or better in the win, including two with 1.000 hitting percentages.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-12

• Lukes (redshirt senior outside hitter) wasted no time in getting the scoring started for the Toreros on Saturday afternoon, immediately pushing her team ahead by striking first for a kill to make it 1-0.
• Gonzaga rallied to tie the match at three, but a combo block from Lukes and sophomore middle blocker Haylee Stoner (Mission Hills High School) stopped the Zags' early surge in its tracks and gave USD the lead back at 4-3.
• San Diego was in complete control for the remainder of the frame after breaking that early tie, stretching its advantage to as many as 11 midway through on back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Leyla Blackwell (La Jolla High School) and graduate transfer outside hitter Breana Edwards (Indiana) to make it 15-4.
• The USD lead stayed at 10 or more the rest of the way in the second, eventually swelling to 13 when another set of back-to-back kills — this time from graduate transfer setter Gabby Blossom (Penn State) and redshirt senior Gabby Goddard — locked in a 25-12 win for San Diego in the first set to open up a 1-0 advantage in the match.

First Set Notables:

• Blackwell: Five kills (.667) and a block assist
• Edwards: Four kills (.571) and one solo block
• Lukes: Three kills (.429)
• Redshirt senior libero Annie Benbow: Five digs
• Blossom: 12 assists, three digs, and a kill
• Stoner: One kill, one service ace, one dig, and one block assist

Second Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-11

• USD began its most dominant set of the day on a 5-1 run, an early surge that was facilitated by three kills from Lukes and one from senior opposite/setter Grace Frohling.
• San Diego stayed ahead as the set progressed, going up by as many as eight at 11-3 when Stoner found her mark for a kill.
• A service ace from Benbow made it 12 points at 20-8 in favor of USD, then Goddard notched a kill of her own to seal a decisive, 14-point, 25-11 victory for San Diego in Saturday's second set that earned it a commanding 2-0 lead over Gonzaga in the match.

Second Set Notables:

• Lukes: Eight kills (.889), two service aces, and three digs
• Frohling: Four kills (.500), one assist, one dig, and two block assists
• Blossom: 12 kills and a block assist
• Benbow: Six digs, two assists, and one service ace
• Junior libero/defensive specialist Madi Allen: Two digs and an assist

Third Set - No. 3 San Diego, 25-14

• The Bulldogs got on the board first early on in Saturday's third and final set but never led again after San Diego surged ahead for a 4-3 advantage on a service ace from Lukes.
• The middle stages of the frame saw San Diego slowly build a sizable advantage, culminating in a 10-point, 19-9 lead when Edwards found her mark once again for a kill.
• Gonzaga got within seven down the stretch but a late San Diego surge quickly extinguished any hopes of a comeback, securing a 25-14 win in the third on back-to-back kills from Frohling and Lukes to take home a 3-0 sweep in the match.

Third Set Notables:

• Lukes: Six kills (.625), one service
• Blackwell: Five kills (1.000), one assist, and one block assist
• Edwards: Three kills (.333), one dig, and one block assist
• Stoner: Two kills (1.000), one service ace, and one block assist
• Frohling: Two kills
• Benbow: Four digs and an assist

TORERO TIDBITS

• Lukes led the Toreros in kills for the fourth consecutive match, notching 17 while hitting a robust .667 alongside a match-high three service aces, seven digs, and two block assists.
• She now has 1,212 kills in her four-plus year USD career.
• Blackwell was next with 10 of her own while hitting .692, also chipping in an assist and a block assist.
• Edwards posted nine kills (.471) alongside one dig, one solo block, and two assists.
• Frohling had eight kills to go with an assist, a dig, and two block assists.
• Stoner recorded four kills while hitting .800 with two service aces, a dig, and a game-high four block assists.
• Blossom paced the match with 40 assists, the ninth time in 21 San Diego matches she has had 40 or more. She has recorded 30 assists or more in 19 of the Toreros' 21 matches so far in 2022, including a season-high 53 in USD's 3-2 win over No. 6 Pitt on August 26.
• Benbow had 15 digs, a service ace, and four assists on Saturday. With 1,430 career digs in four-plus seasons as a Torero, she is now just 59 digs away from Hunter Jennings' all-time USD record of 1,489. With 34 more, she will pass Jackie Bernardin's second-place mark of 1,464.
• Allen posted four digs and an assist.
• San Diego has now won 17 consecutive matches, including nine straight sweeps.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will continue West Coast Conference play on the road next week at Santa Clara. First serve on Thursday at the Leavey Center is set for 6:00 p.m.