SAN DIEGO — San Diego volleyball concluded its 2024 regular-season schedule in style on Saturday afternoon, sweeping Saint Mary's at the Jenny Craig Pavilion behind 14 kills from Nemo Beach (.344) and a well-rounded defensive effort that saw four USD players record multiple block assists and eight more tally multiple digs.

The Toreros (19-9, 14-4 WCC) rallied for a 26-24 win in set one, hung on to prevail 25-22 in the second set, and cruised to a 25-15 decision in the third and final frame to beat the Gaels (10-17, 6-12 WCC) by a 3-0 margin and secure their 11th victory in straight sets this season.

Freshman setter Kylie Munday directed the USD offense with precision, concluding her dynamic debut college campaign with a 36-assist effort that helped San Diego out-hit Saint Mary's .313 to .222.

Kristen Erland and Kennedy Osunsanmi both had a team-high four block assists, and the Toreros ultimately out-blocked the Gaels 7 to 5.

San Diego was behind Saint Mary's 14-10 midway through Saturday's first frame before claiming a 20-18 lead on a kill from Isabel Clark and a combo block from Clark and Haylee Stoner. The Gaels fought back and got within a point of taking set one, pushing the score to 24-23 in their favor on a Torero attack error, but USD was able to mount a last-second response of its own. An SMC attack error knotted the first period at 24-24, then Erland struck for a kill and a combo block with Osunsanmi to earn her team the 26-24 win as they pulled ahead 1-0 in the match.

The Toreros didn't need any extra points to take set two, and were up by as many as eight when a service ace from Stoner moved it to 23-15. A late Saint Mary's surge made things interesting down the stretch, cutting the deficit to two at 24-22, but Beach and Erland teamed up for a well-timed combo block to seal it, 25-22 as their team took a commanding 2-0 lead.

USD traded points with the Gaels through the opening stages of the third set, but by the midpoint held a five-point, 11-6 lead courtesy of another kill from Beach. SMC was back within two at the 12-10 mark but never got any closer, eventually falling by a 10-point, 25-15 margin as San Diego closed the match on a 6-0 run that featured two more kills from Beach, a service ace from Munday, and one final kill from Erland.

NOTABLE:

• Isabel Clark led the game with five service aces, which marked the most by a Torero in a single contest since November 9, 2024, when Kylie Pries tallied nine versus San Francisco.
• Madi Allen had a team-high 14 digs.
• San Diego finished the 2024 regular season with an 8-2 record in its final 10 games and a 16-4 record in its final 20 games.

UP NEXT
After concluding their 2024 regular-season schedule with a 19-9 overall record and a 14-4 ledger in West Coast Conference play, the Toreros will now await their postseason fate during the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, which will air tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 3:00 p.m. PST on ESPN.