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Yale

9/18/2025 | 7 PM


ESPN+


Sep. 18 (Thu) / 7 PM


 Yale

History

SEATTLE — Step into the Jenny Craig Pavilion during a San Diego volleyball practice, and you’re likely to see a shirt that says it.

“BIG DAWGS.”

Emblazoned on the back of some of the Toreros’ practice shirts for the last year or so, the catchphrase speaks to the confidence and exuberance of a young, energetic team with its eyes on a conference championship and more.

On Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena, San Diego was wearing its navy blue jerseys — sans catchphrase — but it looked like a team full of “BIG DAWGS” all the same.

Aided by yet another 50-assist performance from setter Kylie Munday, Nemo Beach tallied 20 kills to help the Toreros (5-3, 0-0 WCC) earn a 3-2 victory over Washington (4-4, 0-0 Big 10) as they silenced a hometown crowd of more than 2,700 in Seattle. The win also earned USD the top spot at the 2025 Husky Invitational (making it the event’s only undefeated team) and propelled Munday and Beach to tournament Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team honors, respectively.

It was USD’s second win against a Power-4 opponent in as many days after it prevailed against Arizona on Friday afternoon, also in five sets. And though it went winless at the Trojan Invitational at USC last weekend, San Diego has now finished first at two of its first three multi-team events this season following a season-opening triumph at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu.

Sunday’s five-set (23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 15-12) thriller was anything but easy for the Toreros. Extreme runs on both sides of the court defined the match, with the lead changing hands just seven times on the afternoon as only 16 tie scores materialized across all five sets.

Perhaps the most important of those runs came near the midpoint of set four. With her team chasing 14-11, Isabel Clark fueled an 9-0 San Diego run with four kills (including three in a row at one point) to give the Toreros an 18-14 lead that was enough for them to force a decisive fifth and final frame.

And it was Clark who came up clutch again to begin the final period, notching three more kills and a combo block with Maya Kitna to punctuate an 8-2 Torero surge that all but sealed the win for USD. Washington pulled back within two down the stretch before Kitna hammered her eighth kill of the evening and the Huskies final serve of the match floated wide, giving San Diego the last point it needed to fly home from Seattle with a pair of five-set wins and another tournament title under its belt.

In a weekend filled with Wildcats and Huskies, it was the Toreros who embraced their “BIG DAWG” energy to come out on top.

Better get those shirts ready for practice on Monday.

NOTABLE

  • Graduate transfer Kali Engeman hit .389 as she tallied 10 kills and seven blocks (one solo).
  • Clark totaled 13 kills, four blocks, and eight digs.
  • Kitna hit .667 as she finished with eight kills, three solo blocks, an assist, and five digs.
  • Munday was tied for the match high with three service aces, added four blocks and a kill, and was a dig shy of a double-double.
  • Olivia Bennett recorded 10 digs and five assists.
  • Sunday marked San Diego’s first-ever victory over Washington across a now five-match all-time series that dates back to 1980.
  • The 3-2 win concluded an eight-match season-opening road swing for USD, comprising the program’s most consecutive matches away from home to start a season since 2006. 

UP NEXT
The Toreros will open their 2025 home schedule on Thursday night against Yale. First serve against the Bulldogs at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.