SAN DIEGO — As USD slogged its way through a pair of challenging sets to begin its matchup with Washington State on Saturday afternoon, head coach Jennifer Petrie's message to star setter Kylie Munday was clear.

"I told Kylie that we were going to have to use everyone to win," Petrie said.

Munday, tasked with directing the West Coast Conference's top offense, certainly did her part, racking up 55 assists to help four Toreros record double-digit kills as San Diego (16-4, 9-0 WCC) roared back to life to steal a 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-10, 15-8) win from Washington State (12-7, 6-3 WCC) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Asked to assess her team's efforts after the match, Petrie quipped: "I thought we were pretty well diversified."

Nemo Beach led the way for USD with 18 kills, and was followed by graduate transfer Kali Engeman, who hit a blistering (and San Diego-centric) .619 enroute to 15 kills of her own. Ava Durgan, already named WCC Freshman of the Week twice in 2025, added a career-high 10 kills of her own while swinging it at a .318 clip.

Nearly all of it would have been in vain had the Toreros not flipped the switch and found their footing halfway through the game. San Diego dropped a back-and-forth opening stanza before falling behind — and losing — a one-sided second set that the Cougars opened on a 7-0 run.

But it was all USD after that, the Toreros shrugging off a 2-0 deficit to dominate the final three frames. After failing to take a lead in set two, San Diego trailed WSU just once across sets three, four, and five, and led wire-to-wire for two straight sets to finish it.

"I'm really impressed with our ability to stay present and in the moment, and to not get too shaken no matter what the score is," Petrie said. "This team's been pretty good at that all year."

USD's defense played a key role in the win as well. Highlighted by a game-high six blocks from High Point transfer BayLea Sparks, five Toreros tallied multiple stuffs on Saturday, including five from Engeman and four apiece from both Durgan and Isabel Clark. As a whole, San Diego out-blocked Washington State 13 to 6.

And at the center of it all on both sides of the ball was Munday, who added three blocks and seven digs before falling just an assist shy of her career high.

"She's exceptional right now," said Petrie. "She's doing a really great job of distributing the ball and making difficult sets look easy."

WIN STREAK CONTINUES

• The first-place Toreros have now won nine consecutive matches, all in West Coast Conference play. No other WCC team is still unbeaten in league games.

NOTABLE

• USD recorded 10 service aces on Saturday, marking a team season-high. Freshman defensive specialist Lauren Lynch had four and Munday had three.
• Libero Olivia Bennett had 21 digs, falling just one short of her career high.
• The Toreros out-hit the Cougars .249 to .150.
• San Diego went 3-1 against Washington State during the Cougars' two-year tenure in the WCC, including a season sweep of WSU in 2025. USD remains undefeated all-time against WSU in the JCP.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action next Thursday night, when they remain at home to host San Francisco (3-18, 1-8 WCC). First serve against the Dons at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m.