Except it explicitly states, total damage is suffered. That is not excluded, just because it also says you suffer that damage total one point at a time.
One does not prohibit the other.
You have a damage total, which you take first from any shields, then from hull, and you stop taking damage cards once your hull point total is equaled. You do not keep taking damage cards once that limit is exceeded.
That is why they say you suffer it one point at a time, because several mechanics are involved, not because each point is its own instance of damage being taken.