SAN DIEGO — San Diego volleyball (11-7, 7-1 WCC) seized control early on Thursday night and never looked back, sweeping Portland (6-14, 1-7 WCC) for a dominant wire-to-wire win at the Jenny Craig Pavilion behind a match-high 10 kills from Amber Stivrins.

The Toreros hung on for a 25-20 victory in the first frame, then rolled to 25-12 and 25-15 decisions to prevail in straight sets for the sixth time in their first eight West Coast Conference matches.

USD — which did not trail at any point in Thursday night's match and was tied with the Pilots just twice —  held Portland to a minuscule -.011 hitting percentage, a feat that was bolstered by four blocks (one solo) from Haylee Stoner.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - San Diego, 25-20

• San Diego began Thursday night's first set off in strong fashion, racing to an early 5-0 lead behind kills from Kylie Pries, Amber Stivrins, and Leyla Blackwell alongside a pair of Pilot errors.
• Portland fought back and pulled within two at 10-8, but a service ace from Olivia Bennett and a combo block from Haylee Stoner and Isadora Tercariol restored order and brought the USD lead back to four at 13-9.
• A 7-1 San Diego scoring run ensued, extending USD's lead to 21-11 before the Pilots climbed back within three at 23-20.
• Portland committed a double-hit violation to bring it to set point at 24-20, then Nemo Beach found her mark to seal the set, pushing USD ahead 1-0 in the match.

Second Set - San Diego, 25-12

• The Toreros kicked off the second set just like they started off the first: on a 5-0 run. USD's strong start was powered by two kills from Stivrins, one kill from Pries, a service ace from Tercariol, and an error from the Pilots.
• Portland again answered with a point to make it 5-1, but a solo block from Stoner later on made it 8-2.
• San Diego's lead stayed at six as the set progressed after Stoner found her mark for a kill to make it 12-6.
• After Bennett notched a service ace to move the score to 13-6 in her team's favor, Portland took their first timeout of the frame.
• Stivrins recorded back-to-back kills coming out of the break, keying off yet another 5-0 USD run that stretched its advantage to 15-7.
• A service ace from Tercariol highlighted a mid-set San Diego surge that pushed the score to 22-8, then Ella Durham put an end to a late Portland rally, finding her mark with a kill to put USD up 2-0 in the match.

Third Set - San Diego, 25-15

• The Toreros battled back and forth with the Pilots early on in Thursday night's third and final set before Bennett notched another service ace to make it 4-2 in San Diego's favor.
• USD seized control as the set progressed, quickly building off of Bennett's ace to create an eight-point, 16-8 advantage when Pries and Blackwell teamed up for a combo block.
• Back-to-back kills from Stoner and Durham made it a 12-point Torero lead down the stretch, then a Pilot attack error sealed San Diego a 25-15 win in the set and a 3-0 sweep in the match.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Stivrins hit .333 on Thursday night and added two digs and a block assist.
• Stoner chipped in five kills while hitting a robust .556.
• Blackwell notched five kills of her own while hitting .625 and had an assist and three blocks (two solo)
• Bennett totaled a match-high three service aces and three digs.
• Madi Allen was tied for the match lead on Thursday with eight digs.
• Tercariol led all players with 25 assists alongside two kills, two service aces, six digs, and a block assist.
• Pries totaled seven digs, four kills, three assists, and two block assists.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Saturday, when they host Pepperdine for a critical WCC matchup. First serve at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 12:00 p.m.