DENVER — San Diego volleyball pushed its winning streak to seven matches on Saturday afternoon, sweeping Denver 25-21, 25-22, 25-18 at Hamilton Gymnasium in its first West Coast Conference trip to the Mile High City.
The Toreros (14-8, 9-3 WCC) hit .393 and out-blocked Denver (12-12, 5-7 WCC) 9.0 to 2.0, finishing the season series against the WCC newcomers without dropping a set. All seven wins in the streak have come in conference play, and six have been sweeps.
Seven of Emma Brewer's kills came in the first set, on 14 swings without an error. The freshman had three as San Diego turned a 7-7 tie into a 12-8 lead, capped by a Kierstyn Barton ace, and Denver never drew even again.
BayLea Sparks teamed with Nemo Beach and then Barton on blocks that helped push the lead to 18-14, drawing a Denver timeout. Brewer's kills made it 20-16 and 22-16, and Barton's kill brought up set point at 24-20.
Denver pushed back in a second set that had 17 ties and nine lead changes. The Pioneers scored three straight for a 16-13 lead, but freshman Ryann Knuth, who checked in at 4-4, answered with back-to-back kills to start a three-point run that tied it.
Sparks' kills tied it at 18 and again at 20, and Lauren Lynch then served three straight points, on a Barton kill and two by Brewer, for a 23-20 lead. After the Pioneers got within 23-22, Jamia Johnson's attack error gave San Diego set point, and Meghan Scholz ended the set with a solo block of Izabela Molina.
San Diego blocked five Denver attacks in the third set, with Sparks in on four, as the Pioneers hit .171. Brewer's kill put the Toreros ahead for good at 7-6, and blocks of Alicia Thibodeau by Kylie Munday and Sparks and then Sparks and Barton helped stretch the lead to 12-8.
Belle Groomes came on to serve at 17-12 and opened with an ace, and Knuth accounted for San Diego's next four points, all on kills, to make it 22-16. Scholz, who ended the second set with a block, closed out the match with a kill off a Munday set.
Brewer finished with 15 kills on .406 hitting, matching the second-highest total of her career, and added an ace for a match-high 16.5 points. Barton posted a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs to go with three block assists and an ace.
Sparks hit .750, with nine kills on 12 swings and no errors, and the Grand Junction, Colo., native had a match-high six blocks. Knuth also went error-free, putting down nine kills on 16 swings in two sets, and served an ace.
Munday handed out 42 assists and added eight digs and two blocks. Lynch posted a match-high dig total for the fifth straight match, finishing with 16, and passed 13-for-13 in serve receive. The sophomore libero came in 0.01 behind Denver's Madison Winkler for the WCC lead in digs per set, and Winkler had 12.
Kayla Patel had a double-double for Denver with 15 kills on .429 hitting and 12 digs, and Jamia Johnson added 10 kills.
UP NEXT
San Diego visits Pepperdine, the last team to beat the Toreros, on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse, with the match televised nationally on ESPNU. The Toreros will then close their three-match road swing at LMU on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Gersten Pavilion.
