MORAGA, Calif. — Kristen Erland had been here before, done this before, adding a flurry of kills for her team as it beat up on an opponent at the UCU Pavilion.

Only this time, she was a visitor up at Saint Mary's, where she spent the first three seasons of her college career while earning a pair of All-WCC honors.

Erland, who joined San Diego (12-7, 7-2 WCC) as a transfer this spring, added seven kills in the first set on Saturday as she played against her former squad, eventually totaling 10 on the afternoon while recording the highest single-match hitting percentage (.714) by a Torero since 2022.

Her memorable performance helped her new team make itself right at home in Moraga, with USD racing to a 3-0 sweep of the Gaels (5-13, 1-8 WCC) by scores of 25-13, 25-18, and 25-20 to secure its 10th win in its last 12 matches.

SMC came out swinging to begin the contest, and held an 8-5 lead early on in the opening frame. But kills from Isabel Clark and Nemo Beach paired with a solo block from reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Week Haylee Stoner knotted things up at 10-10, and it was all Toreros after that. Erland ripped off three straight kills down the stretch before freshman setter Kylie Munday extended the San Diego advantage to eight with a service ace. Then Clark struck again to seal it, and USD was up 1-0.

The Toreros went down by a similar sum as the second set got underway. But after another kill from Clark that made it 10-9 in their favor they didn't trail again, eventually stretching their advantage to seven en-route to a 25-18 victory.

By the third and final frame San Diego had found its groove, racing to a 10-point, 16-6 lead thanks to kills from Stoner and sophomore outside hitter Ella Durham and a service ace from Munday before prevailing 25-20 to take the match.

Erland's big afternoon was bolstered by strong offensive performance from Clark, who added eight kills while hitting .316, and Stoner, who continued her hot streak with eight kills of her own at a .357 clip.

Even Munday got in on the offensive action on an afternoon in which San Diego out-hit Saint Mary's .362 to .143, adding five kills to go with 27 assists, and eight digs.

On defense, three Toreros (Erland, Clark, and Stoner) tallied multiple blocks, and two USD players (Erland and Stoner) had more than one solo block. Libero Madi Allen led the match with 14 digs.

San Diego has now won 11 straight matches against the Gaels, including five in a row at the UCU Pavilion. For the first time in her college career, Erland emerged victorious in a match between SMC and USD.

More of the same for the Toreros, amid a new chapter for its most impactful transfer.

NOTABLE

• Saturday marked San Diego's fourth straight win and seventh sweep of 2024.
• Durham totaled five kills — her most since September 20 — while hitting .455.
• USD out-blocked SMC 8-2. Erland and Stoner were tied for the team lead with four total blocks apiece.
• Stoner was tied for the match high with three service aces, and was followed by Munday and Allen, who both had two.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Thursday night, when they return home to host Santa Clara at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. First serve against the Broncos is set for 7:00 p.m.