SAN DIEGO — San Diego volleyball (7-8, 2-3 WCC) begins a four-match road trip this week with stops at Seattle U (4-11, 1-4 WCC) on Thursday night and Portland (10-4, 3-2 WCC) on Saturday afternoon. The Toreros went 3-0 against the Redhawks and Pilots last season and have won 18 straight matches against Portland.

First serve is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Live statistics will be available on StatBroadcast.

LAST TIME OUT: SAN DIEGO DROPS 3-0 DECISION TO PEPPERDINE

• San Diego led in all three sets against Pepperdine on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, but the Waves rallied each time for a 25-15, 25-22, 25-23 sweep.

• The loss dropped the Toreros to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in the WCC. They came in leading the league in opponent hitting at .153, but Pepperdine (13-4, 5-1 WCC) hit .304 against them and held San Diego to .184. The Waves also served 10 aces, half of them by Iva Popovic, to the Toreros' five.

• Nemo Beach's back-to-back kills started a 4-0 run in the first set, and Kierstyn Barton's ace capped it for an 8-5 lead. Pepperdine answered with five straight points and never trailed again, then broke the set open from 15-12 with eight in a row, seven on Laine Briggs' serve.

• San Diego led 6-1 early in the second, and Kylie Munday later served three straight points to turn a 13-12 deficit into a 15-13 lead. Beach's kill made it 20-17, but Pepperdine came out of a timeout with five straight points, four on Tristen Raymond's serve, and closed out the set 25-22 after BayLea Sparks tied it at 22.

• Meghan Scholz served San Diego from 8-8 to 11-8 in the third, with an ace in the middle of the run, and the Toreros still led 16-14 when Popovic served three straight aces to put the Waves ahead 17-16. Down 24-20, San Diego saved three match points on a Sparks kill, a Lauren Lynch ace and Barton's sixth kill of the set before Chloe Pravednikov ended it out of a timeout.

• Barton led San Diego with 11 kills on .400 hitting and 12.5 points, adding eight digs and an ace. Sparks hit .750 with nine kills on 12 error-free swings, three in each set, for 10.5 points, and Lynch had a match-high 15 digs while passing 23-for-24. Beach added seven kills, Scholz had four kills and four block assists, and Munday handed out 25 assists. Pepperdine's Nikol Dvornikova led all players with 14 kills.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SEATTLE U

• USD leads the all-time series, 3-0, and has swept two of its previous three matchups with the Redhawks.

• San Diego and Seattle U last faced off on Oct. 18, 2025, when the Toreros beat the Redhawks 3-1 up in Seattle in the two teams' first-ever clash as conference opponents.

• Prior to last year's matchup, USD and SU had not played one another in volleyball since 2009.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PORTLAND

• San Diego leads the all-time series, 69-9.

• The Toreros have won 18 consecutive matches against the Pilots dating back to Oct. 14, 2017, a streak that includes 14 San Diego sweeps.

• USD and Portland most recently met last season on Nov. 15, 2025, when San Diego won 3-2 at the Chiles Center.

• The Toreros last lost to the Pilots on Nov. 10, 2016, when they dropped a tough 3-2 decision at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. USD's most recent defeat at Portland was back on Nov. 14, 2015, when it fell 3-0 to the Pilots.

LAST MEETINGS: RETURNING TOREROS AT SEATTLE U AND PORTLAND IN 2025

• San Diego went 3-0 against this week's opponents in 2025, sweeping Portland at home on Oct. 9 before winning 3-1 at Seattle U's Redhawk Center on Oct. 18 and 3-2 at Portland's Chiles Center on Nov. 15. Those two road wins, the last meetings with each, came at the same venues the Toreros visit this week.

• In the two 2025 road wins, USD hit .338 (123-33-266) to its opponents' .131 (86-51-267). Seven current Toreros played in both and accounted for 72 of USD's 123 kills.

At Seattle U (Oct. 18, 2025)

• San Diego won 25-17, 25-10, 21-25, 25-20, hitting .336 (57-16-122) to Seattle U's .089 (35-24-123) and out-blocking the Redhawks 12.0-5.0. Seattle U hit -.037 in the first set and -.143 in the second.

• Nemo Beach led all players with 21 kills on .385 hitting (21-6-39) and 28.0 points, adding five aces and three blocks. She served six straight points, three of them aces, to turn a 5-4 second-set lead into 11-4, and her kill and ace scored the match's final two points.

• Kylie Munday had a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs, plus six block assists. BayLea Sparks hit .625 with five kills on eight error-free swings and four block assists, and Ava Durgan started and added eight kills on .333 hitting.

• Lauren Lynch had 11 digs and served six straight points to turn a 14-14 first-set tie into a 20-14 lead, and Tatum Lane's ace later made it 24-16. In the second set, Reese Bates served three straight points for a 20-7 lead, and Lynch served the set's last three points.

At Portland (Nov. 15, 2025)

• San Diego won 23-26, 25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 15-10, hitting .340 (66-17-144) to Portland's .167 (51-27-144) and out-blocking the Pilots 13.0-9.0. The Toreros hit .545 in the second set and .382 in the third, and Portland hit -.059 in the fifth.

• BayLea Sparks hit .714 with 11 kills on 14 swings (11-1-14) and had six blocks, one solo, for 14.5 points. Her kills scored the first and last points of the fifth set.

• Kylie Munday had 46 assists and 12 digs for a double-double, served three aces and hit .600 (3-0-5). Her serve opened the fifth set with two straight points, a Sparks kill and an ace.

• Nemo Beach had 16 kills and seven digs and took a team-high 32 serve-receive attempts (.875). Ava Durgan added five kills and five block assists, and Lauren Lynch passed 17-for-17 with 13 digs.

2026 WCC WEEKLY HONORS

• Kylie Munday, Setter of the Week (Aug. 31): 115 assists (11.50 per set), 33 digs, 6.0 blocks and three aces as USD went 2-1 in Honolulu. Fifth career weekly honor.

• Emma Brewer, Freshman of the Week (Sept. 21): 23 kills (3.29 per set), 16 digs, 7.0 blocks and two aces in wins over Arizona and San Diego State. First career weekly honor.

• Lauren Lynch, Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 5): 11 digs, four assists and an ace in a 3-0 win over Denver, passing 5-for-5 in serve receive. First career weekly honor.

NATIONALLY RELEVANT NUMBERS

• San Diego is holding opponents to .161 hitting, 19th in the nation according to NCAA statistics through Oct. 12.

• Nationally, San Diego also ranks 61st in blocks per set (2.41), 69th in digs per set (14.91), 97th in attacks per set (34.95) and 113th in kills per set (12.84).

• Kylie Munday ranks 55th nationally in assists per set (9.91), Lauren Lynch is 58th in digs per set (4.32) and Meghan Scholz is 66th in blocks per set (1.22).

• San Diego has hit .296 (334-92-818) over its last seven matches, starting with the Sept. 17 sweep of Arizona, after hitting .163 through its first eight. In five WCC matches, the Toreros are hitting .274 to their opponents' .171 and averaging 2.58 blocks per set to 1.45.

HOW THEY STACK UP IN THE WCC

• Saturday's match puts the WCC's best hitting team against its stingiest defense. Portland leads the league and ranks 17th nationally in hitting percentage (.276), and San Diego leads the WCC and ranks 19th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.161), according to NCAA statistics through Oct. 12.

• The Pilots take the fewest swings in the WCC (31.63 attacks per set, 311th nationally) but rank second in the league in kills per set (13.02) and aces per set (1.88, 32nd nationally). They are seventh in both blocks per set (1.71) and digs per set (13.06), and their 89.0 total blocks are the league's fewest.

• Portland's Taina Kaauwai leads the WCC and ranks second nationally in hitting percentage (.513). Pilots setter Havannah Hoeft is third in the league in assists per set (9.79, 60th nationally), behind Santa Clara's Macy Hinshaw and Kylie Munday. Portland libero Jeryn Hildenbrand is second in the WCC in aces per set (0.52, 33rd nationally), and the Pilots' Kalaweloilehua Chock is eighth in kills per set (3.13).

• Kaauwai, Hoeft and Hildenbrand all played for Portland in the Nov. 15, 2025 meeting at the Chiles Center. Kaauwai hit .500 (10-1-18) against San Diego in that match, Hoeft had 44 assists and Hildenbrand passed 20-for-20 with 11 digs.

• Seattle U is strongest at the net, ranking third in the WCC in blocks per set (2.29, 83rd nationally) behind Pepperdine and San Diego. Seattle U's Lexi Jones is third among league players at 1.20 blocks per set, behind Pepperdine's Ella Piskorz (1.54) and Meghan Scholz (1.22). The Redhawks rank ninth in the WCC in hitting (.161) and kills per set (10.98) and 10th in digs per set (11.46).

• San Diego is also second in the WCC in blocks (2.41), digs (14.91) and attacks (34.95) per set and third in assists per set (11.86). Scholz (1.22 blocks per set) and Lauren Lynch (4.32 digs per set) each rank second in the league, Munday is second in assists per set (9.91) and Kierstyn Barton is fifth in points per set (4.04).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

#7 Kierstyn Barton | Senior | 6-1 | Outside Hitter | Chandler, Ariz. | Corona Del Sol HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Barton leads the Toreros in kills (191, 3.41 per set) and points (226.0, 4.04 per set) through 56 sets. Her points per set rank fifth in the WCC and her kills per set rank sixth. She is hitting .232.

• She has led San Diego in kills in each of the last two matches. Against Pepperdine, she had 11 kills on .400 hitting and 12.5 points with eight digs and an ace, including six kills in the third set, the last of them saving a match point. Against LMU, she had 14 kills, 17 digs and 17.5 points, and her kill tied the fifth set at 11.

• Against Saint Mary's, she had a match-high 16 kills on .375 hitting with five aces, seven block assists and seven digs for 24.5 points, tying the most by a Torero in a match this season. The five aces are a Torero season high, and she served back-to-back aces to close the first set and again for a 14-10 lead in the fifth.

• Her season high is 20 kills against SMU, followed by 19 in her USD debut against Baylor and 18 against San Diego State, and she had double-doubles in all three matches leading into WCC play. She has 140 digs and 38.0 blocks and has been charged with eight reception errors on 144 serve-receive attempts (.944).

#12 Kylie Munday | Junior | 5-10 | Setter | Post Falls, Idaho | Post Falls HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Munday has 545 assists through 55 sets. Her 9.91 assists per set rank 55th nationally and second in the WCC, behind Santa Clara's Macy Hinshaw (10.76), and she was named WCC Setter of the Week for Aug. 31 after the season-opening weekend in Honolulu.

• Her 55 assists against UC Davis are a season high and one shy of her career high of 56, set in the five-set win over Arizona on Sept. 13, 2025. She set a season high with 25 digs against UC Davis and added 5.0 blocks and two aces while running an offense that produced 66 kills.

• According to Evollve/Avid Volleyball, that line made her just the second player in the past seven seasons to finish a match with at least 55 assists, 25 digs and five blocks.

• She has seven double-doubles in 2026 — 39 assists and 12 digs against Baylor, 42 and 19 against Georgia Southern, 55 and 25 against UC Davis, 35 and 10 against Oregon, 38 and 10 against San Diego State, 43 and 16 against Saint Mary's, and 40 and 14 against LMU.

• Against Pepperdine, she served three straight points to turn a 13-12 second-set deficit into a 15-13 lead, and her ace made it 13-9 in the third. Munday ranks second on the roster with 152 digs (2.76 per set) and third with 15 service aces, including a season-high three against LMU, and has added 28.0 blocks and 20 kills.

#1 Nemo Beach | Senior | 5-11 | Outside Hitter | Chandler, Ariz. | Hamilton HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Beach reached 1,000 career kills, all at San Diego, in the Sept. 6 match against USC. She ranks second on the team with 158 kills through 54 sets, and her 2.93 kills per set rank 12th in the WCC. She is hitting .206.

• Her season high is 22 kills, set against UC Davis on a season-high 61 attempts, and her 12 digs that night made it one of her three double-doubles in 2026. The other two came in sweeps, with 11 kills and 11 digs apiece at Hawaii and against Arizona.

• Against LMU, she served eight straight points to turn a 4-1 first-set lead into 12-1 and five more in a row for a 17-10 lead in the fourth, finishing with 11 kills, nine digs and an ace. Two days later, her back-to-back kills started a 4-0 first-set run against Pepperdine, and she had seven kills and an ace.

• Beach ranks second on the team with 179.5 points (3.32 per set) and third with 211 serve-receive attempts (.915), and has added 101 digs, 11 aces, 11 assists and 17.0 blocks. She served a season-high three aces against Arizona, two of them to cap a 6-0 start to the third set.

#13 Emma Brewer | Freshman | 6-1 | Outside Hitter | Salem, Ore. | Sprague HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• The WCC Freshman of the Week for Sept. 21, Brewer ranks fourth on the team in kills per set (2.10) and points per set (2.48), with 84 kills and 99.0 points through 40 sets. She has added 62 digs and 21.0 blocks.

• She had nine kills in two sets against Pacific. In the second, she put down six kills on eight swings and ended four straight rallies — three kills and a solo block — during a 5-0 run, and her kill on the third set's first rally came on Belle Groomes' first college assist.

• Her first two career double-doubles came in back-to-back matches: a career-high 13 kills on .440 hitting with 14 digs against San Diego State, then 12 kills and 13 digs against Saint Mary's. She had three kills in a span of four rallies to put USD ahead 5-3 in the fifth set against the Gaels.

• Against Arizona on Sept. 17, she checked in with the Wildcats ahead 13-12 in the first set and had four kills in the 8-1 run that followed, finishing with 10 kills on .474 hitting off the bench.

• Brewer started the season opener against Baylor on the left side and finished with nine kills and nine digs. At Arizona State, she closed out San Diego's second-set win with a kill and a set-winning ace awarded on a successful challenge.

#8 Ryann Knuth | Freshman | 6-2 | Outside Hitter | Glenview, Ill. | Glenbrook South HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Knuth shares the team lead with Kierstyn Barton at 16 service aces, and her 0.36 aces per set are the Toreros' best. She ranks third on the team in kills (93, 2.11 per set) and points per set (2.68) through 44 sets, and has added 84 digs.

• Her 12 kills and 13 digs against LMU made for one of three Torero double-doubles, and she added two aces. Her ace put San Diego up 19-11 in the second set, and her kill gave the Toreros set point at 24-23.

• She led all players with 13 kills and 13.5 points in the sweep of Denver, hitting .478 (13-2-23), tied for the second-best mark by a Torero with at least 12 kills this season. Her career high is 17 kills against SMU, when she added 13 digs.

• Her four aces against Georgia Southern, three of them in a row as San Diego opened the fourth set on an 8-0 run, are the second-most by a Torero in a match this season. She has also served three in a match twice, against UC Davis and Pacific.

#2 Lauren Lynch | Sophomore | 5-5 | Libero | Burbank, Calif. | Sierra Canyon HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• The WCC Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 5, Lynch leads the Toreros with 242 digs (4.32 per set), 58th nationally and second in the WCC behind Denver's Madison Winkler (4.83). She has taken 295 serve-receive attempts, far and away the most on the team, with 13 errors for a .956 mark.

• The libero had at least 14 digs in each of the first 11 matches, topped by a season-high 26 against SMU, and has led San Diego in digs in each of the last four: 11 apiece against Pacific and Denver, 18 against LMU and a match-high 15 against Pepperdine. She passed 18-for-18 in serve receive against LMU and 23-for-24 against Pepperdine, and her ace saved a match point in the third set against the Waves.

• She had 14 digs against Saint Mary's after leading all players with 18 against San Diego State, and at Arizona State she passed 24-for-24 in serve receive. She has added 57 assists out of the back row.

#18 BayLea Sparks | Redshirt Senior | 6-2 | Middle Blocker | Grand Junction, Colo. | Fruita Monument HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Sparks leads San Diego in hitting percentage at .407, turning 172 swings into 85 kills with 15 attack errors through 55 sets. She has hit .750 with nine kills on 12 error-free swings in two of her last four matches, against Pacific and Pepperdine, and had three kills in each set against the Waves.

• Against LMU, she blocked five attacks on her own and assisted on five more for 10.0 blocks, matching her 10.0 against Saint Mary's (one solo, nine assists) for the most by a Torero in a match this season. The five solo blocks are a Torero season high, and one of them, on Aleksandra Stojanovic, put San Diego ahead 8-7 at the fifth-set switch.

• Sparks has 59.0 blocks, one behind Meghan Scholz for the team lead, and 13 of San Diego's 21 solo blocks. Her 1.07 blocks per set rank sixth in the WCC.

• Her 8.0 blocks against UC Davis, two of them solo, came with a season-high 14 kills on .542 hitting for 19.0 points, also a season best. She has 121.0 points in 2026, third on the team.

#15 Meghan Scholz | Senior | 6-3 | Middle Blocker | Tomahawk, Wis. | Tomahawk HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Scholz leads the Toreros with 60.0 blocks and 1.22 blocks per set through 49 sets. Her average ranks 66th nationally and second in the WCC behind Pepperdine's Ella Piskorz (1.54), and her total ranks fourth in the league.

• Against Pepperdine, she served San Diego from 8-8 to 11-8 in the third set, with an ace in the middle of the run, and finished with four kills and four block assists. Against LMU, she hit .474 with 10 kills on 19 swings, and her kill made it 24-21 in the fourth set before Nemo Beach closed it out two rallies later.

• She has put up at least 5.0 blocks in six matches — Georgia Southern, Hawaii, UC Davis, Oregon, San Diego State and Saint Mary's. Her 9.0 blocks against San Diego State are her season high, and she added 7.0 blocks and six kills on .417 hitting against Saint Mary's, including a fifth-set stuff of Layne Dent with Kierstyn Barton.

• Her most efficient match came against Georgia Southern, with 10 kills on 15 swings and no attack errors for a .667 clip, and she has 71 kills on .246 hitting this season.

#3 Ella Fulton | Freshman | 6-2 | Middle Blocker | San Carlos, Calif. | Saint Francis HS

Through 15 Matches (2026)

• Fulton has played 12 sets across six matches with one start, posting 11 kills and 5.0 blocks for 13.5 points.

• She was on the floor for the deciding set against UC Davis and had a block assist on the set's second point, and she teamed with Emma Brewer on a fourth-set stuff of Grace Martin at Arizona State.