MORAGA, Calif. — A match-high 14 kills from Nemo Beach led San Diego volleyball past Saint Mary's in straight sets on Thursday night.

Beach's big performance helped the Toreros (10-4, 3-0 WCC) beat the Gaels (2-12, 0-3 WCC) by a 3-0 margin to earn their third consecutive win. USD has now emerged victorious in seven of its last eight matches.

A Saint Mary's volleyball-record 1,560 fans packed the UCU Pavilion to cheer on SMC but were silenced after USD prevailed by scores of 31-29, 25-21, and 25-20.

Eighteen digs from Olivia Bennett and four blocks (two solo) from BayLea Sparks anchored the San Diego defense. Sophomore setter Kylie Munday added 37 assists.

Thursday's match began with a wild, back-and-forth opening frame that featured 20 ties and 14 lead changes. Key kills from Ava Durgan, Kali Engeman, and Isabel Clark kept USD alive down the stretch, but the Toreros had to serve on set point four times before an SMC attack error finally gave them the last point they needed to take a 1-0 lead.

Durgan, who was named WCC Freshman of the Week on Monday, helped her team settle in during the second frame by recording four kills while hitting .429. San Diego battled back and forth with Saint Mary's through the middle stages of set two but didn't trail again after Durgan broke a 15-15 tie with a clutch kill.

Five kills in the third set from Beach — who was named WCC Player of the Week alongside Durgan on September 29 — helped USD finish the match in emphatic fashion. San Diego never fell behind (or was tied with) Saint Mary's in Thursday's third and final frame after opening up the period on a 6-2 run. A kill from Engeman gave the Toreros their largest lead of the night at 19-12, and that was enough for San Diego to hang on and earn just its second sweep of 2025.

NOTABLE

• Durgan tied her career high by tallying eight kills while hitting .357. She also added a dig and a block assist.
• Thursday's win keeps USD in a tie with Oregon State (9-4, 3-0 WCC) for first place in the conference standings.
• San Diego and Saint Mary's perfectly matched one another with exactly six combined service aces and eight team blocks apiece.
• The Toreros have now won each of their last 13 matchups with SMC dating back to 2019, a streak that has included 10 San Diego sweeps.
• San Diego hasn't dropped a set to Saint Mary's since November 18, 2021 (seven straight sweeps since then), and hasn't lost a match to the Gaels since November 17, 2018 (when USD fell 3-0 on the road).
• Thursday marked the Gaels' first home game of 2025 after opening the season with 13 straight matches away from home.

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