SAN DIEGO — Eleven kills from both Amber Stivrins and Haylee Stoner on Saturday afternoon helped San Diego volleyball (5-6, 1-0 WCC) open West Coast Conference play in style, earning the Toreros a dominant 3-0 sweep of Saint Mary's (6-8, 0-2 WCC) as they returned to the Jenny Craig Pavilion for the first time in 21 days.

USD beat the Gaels 25-18, 25-17, and 25-22 to secure the victory in straight sets while outhitting their opponent .233 to .095. San Diego has now won 19 consecutive conference matches dating back to the beginning of 2022's WCC slate.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set - San Diego, 25-18

• USD began Saturday afternoon's match on a 7-1 run that was punctuated by a service ace from Amber Stivrins.
• The Gaels responded to pull back within two at 8-6 but San Diego made it a five-point, 12-7 lead when Haylee Stoner hammered a kill.
• Back-and-forth play ensued, with Saint Mary's forcing a Torero timeout when the Gaels again climbed back within two, this time at 16-14.
• A 7-0 San Diego surge nearly sealed the first set for USD, moving the score to 23-16 in the home team's favor, before Nemo Beach notched a kill to secure her team a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set - San Diego, 25-17

• The Gaels struck first to begin Saturday's second set before the two teams traded points early on.
• San Diego eventually pulled ahead by a 6-4 margin on a kill from Beach, but Saint Mary's battled back to take a 11-9 lead of its own.
• SMC's advantage proved to be short-lived. After back-to-back errors from the Gaels tied the score at 12, a well-timed kill from Stivrins and back-to-back-to-back combo blocks from Leyla Blackwell and Kylie Pries re-established the USD lead at 16-12 and forced a Saint Mary's timeout.
• Madi Allen put USD in front by six with a service ace to make it 21-15, then Beach added on with a kill to push the Torero advantage to seven.
• A combo block from Beach and Stoner brought it to set point at 24-17 before Stoner hammered a clutch kill to push San Diego ahead 2-0 in the match.

Third Set - San Diego, 25-22

• Saint Mary's opened up Saturday's third and final set with a 3-1 run before USD reeled the Gaels in and took a 4-3 lead on a service ace from Allen.
• A 5-0 USD run followed, putting the Toreros up 11-6 while forcing a SMC timeout.
• The Gaels came out of the break strong, cutting USD's lead to just one at 13-12 on a pair of Torero attack errors and a kill.
• Three straight San Diego kills (two from Stivrins and one from Beach) expanded the Torero lead down the stretch, prompting the Gaels to take another timeout.
• Saint Mary's was within one late in the set at 22-21 but got no closer, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Toreros after San Diego closed out the match on a 3-1 run to secure the victory.

TORERO TIDBITS 

• Stivrins (.162) and Stoner (.688) were tied for the match high with 11 kills apiece.
• Stivrins also tallied nine digs, finishing one shy of a double-double. 
• Between her 169 kills as a freshman at Louisville, her 692 kills in three seasons at Georgia, and her 136 kills as a Torero thus far in 2023, Stivrins now has 997 career kills, just 3 away from reaching 1,000.
• Four Toreros (Pries, Isadora Tercariol, Allen, and Olivia Bennett) totaled 10 or more digs on Saturday.
• Blackwell and Pries were tied for the USD lead with five block assists apiece.
• Allen led USD with two service aces.
• Saturday afternoon's 3-0 decision over Saint Mary's marked the Toreros' second sweep of 2023 and their fifth win in their last seven games.
• USD has now won 19 consecutive conference matches dating back to a 3-1 win over No. 17 Pepperdine on September 22, 2023.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will hit the road to continue West Coast Conference play next Thursday (September 28) at Gonzaga. First serve at Martin Centre is set for 6 p.m.