SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A match-high 18 kills from Amber Stivrins powered San Diego volleyball to a dominant 3-0 sweep at Santa Clara on Thursday night, leading the Toreros (13-9, 9-3 WCC) past the Broncos (11-13, 3-9 WCC) at the Leavey Center as they prevailed in straight sets for the eighth time in their first 12 West Coast Conference matches.

USD took the first set by a 25-17 margin, then earned back-to-back 25-21 decisions in the second and third frames to earn its 18th consecutive victory over SCU.

Stivrins' big performance helped San Diego out-hit Santa Clara .310 to .189, and was complemented by a team effort on defense that saw the Toreros out-block the Broncos 9-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - San Diego, 25-17

• San Diego trailed the Broncos early on before back-to-back kills from Amber Stivrins put the Toreros in front by a 6-5 margin.
• Stivrins found her mark again as the set progressed, notching a kill to make it 10-7 in her team's favor.
• Haylee Stoner and Isadora Tercariol broke a 10-10 tie with a go-ahead combo block, then Alex Hoglund helped USD race to a 17-11 advantage near the midpoint of the frame by keying off a 7-0 run with a service ace.
• Santa Clara pulled back within two at 17-15 but a Bronco attack error, a kill from Stoner, and a service ace from Olivia Bennett made it a five-point Torero lead at 20-15.
• Stivrins brought things to set point at 24-17 with a kill, then Nemo Beach and Stoner teamed up for a combo block to seal the set and earn their team a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set - San Diego, 25-21

• The Toreros played their way to a 5-5 tie to begin Thursday night's second set before back-to-back kills from Stivrins gave USD a two-point, 7-5 lead.
• USD's lead stayed modest through the early stages of the frame, and was maintained by key kills from Stivrins.
• Blackwell found the back of the court near the middle of the set to notch a kill, moving the score to 13-9 in favor of San Diego.
• Madi Allen followed with a service ace to make it 15-10, prompting a Santa Clara timeout as the Torero lead swelled to five.
• Tercariol came up big down the stretch, ending a long rally with a kill to extend the USD advantage to six at 18-12.
• Santa Clara pulled within two later on at 23-21 but got no closer, suffering a 25-21 at the hands of the Toreros after Beach and Stivrins went back-to-back to put San Diego up 2-0 in the match.

Third Set - San Diego, 25-21

• San Diego started Thursday night's third and final set strong, racing to an early 5-1 lead that was powered by two kills from Pries, one kill from Stoner, and a service ace from Allen.
• Santa Clara rallied to tie the score at 8-8 on a pair of kills, but USD answered with a dominant 4-0 run to reestablish its advantage at 12-8 and prompt a Bronco timeout.
• The Toreros' lead stayed between three and four down the stretch until Stoner hammered a kill to move the score to 21-15.
• SCU fended off back-to-back match points and got within three at 24-21, but Blackwell came up clutch and found her mark for a kill to end the frame and secure her team a sweep.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Stivrins hit .356 as she paced the San Diego offense, also adding an assist and eight digs.
• Pries was just behind with 11 kills of her own, and posted a team-high .429 hitting percentage to go with an assist, a service ace, five digs, and a block.
• Tercariol led the match in assists (39) and blocks (five) while also contributing 15 digs and a kill.
• Blackwell (.368) totaled nine kills and four blocks.
• Stoner matched Blackwell's block total and added four kills, an assist, and a dig.
• Beach chipped in seven kills, five digs, and three blocks.
• Bennett had a match-high 18 digs to go with five assists and a service ace.
• Allen added 12 digs of her own and tied the match high with two service aces.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will remain on the road this weekend, traveling to Stockton, California to continue WCC play against Pacific. First serve on Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center is set for 12:00 p.m.