SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State setter Kennedy Kurtz and libero Brigitte Murdock were named the Big Sky Conference's offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, after helping lead the Hornets to a 4-0 record last week.
The Hornets posted wins over UC Davis, Bowling Green, Northern Kentucky and Seattle over a five-day span. The road win at rival UC Davis was especially gratifying as Sacramento State had to overcome 8-2 and 13-10 deficits in the fifth set.
Sacramento State has now garnered two offensive player of the week awards during the first three weeks of the season, including Lana Brown earning the honor on Aug. 28. The honor for Murdock was the first of her career while Kurtz earned the award for the second time (once in 2016).
Kurtz, a fourth-year senior and team co-captain, stuffed the stat sheet every night, finishing the week with a .409 hitting percentage to go along with averages of 0.78 kills, 10.56 assists, 3.06 digs, 0.50 blocks and 0.39 aces per set. She posted at least 43 assists in all four matches, including a massive 57 dimes in the Hornets' win against Bowling Green. In addition, she hit at least .400 with double figures in digs in three of the four matches.
In the Hornets' 3-2 road win at rival UC Davis, Kurtz had five kills, a .667 hitting percentage, 44 assists, an ace, two blocks and career-best 22 digs. In the team's five-set win against Bowling Green, she had three kills, a .400 hitting percentage, 57 assists, 13 digs and three blocks. Against Northern Kentucky, Kurtz had three kills, a .500 hitting percentage, 43 assists, two aces, three blocks and 11 digs. Later that day, she added three kills, 46 assists, four aces and nine digs in a four-set win over Seattle.
Murdock, also a fourth-year senior, was a huge part of a Hornet defense that limited the opposition to a .167 hitting percentage during the week. In fact, none of Sacramento State's four opponents hit anything better than .217, and three of them hit below .185. For her efforts, she was named all-tournament at the NKU Invite.
Murdock averaged 5.06 digs per set, and posted at least 15 digs in all four matches. That included a career-best 38 digs in a five-set win over Bowling Green. The 38 digs were also tied for the third best mark in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1991-pres.), and the most by a Sacramento State player since 2011.
Murdock had 21 digs in the Hornets' 3-2 win at UC Davis, and followed that up with 38 digs against Bowling Green, 17 at Northern Kentucky, and 15 more against Seattle. In addition, she finished the week with 13 assists and three aces.
Sacramento State (7-5) will bring its four-match winning streak into this week's slate of matches, beginning with a home tilt with San Francisco tomorrow at 7 p.m.

April 4, 2018
SARAH CHLEBANA RETURNS AS ASSISTANT VOLLEYBALL COACH


November 28, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS NIVC PLAY TODAY VS UC IRVINE AT 4:30 PM

November 26, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS PLAY AT THE NIVC ON TUESDAY AGAINST UC IRVINE



November 16, 2017
KURTZ NAMED MVP, VOLTA COACH OF THE YEAR, FOUR HORNETS NAMED ALL-LEAGUE

November 15, 2017
PARKING INFORMATION FOR THE BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

November 13, 2017
VOLLEYBALL HOSTS EIGHT-TEAM BIG SKY TOURNAMENT THURSDAY-SATURDAY






October 16, 2017
NOCETTI NAMED THE BIG SKY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

October 5, 2017
IN BATTLE FOR BIG SKY SUPREMACY, VOLLEYBALL BEATS NORTH DAKOTA


September 28, 2017
VOLLEYBALL REMAINS PERFECT IN THE BIG SKY, POSTS 3-0 ROAD WIN AT MONTANA

September 26, 2017
WINNERS OF 8 OF THE LAST 10, VOLLEYBALL TO PLAY TWO ROAD MATCHES THIS WEEK

September 21, 2017
HOME WINNING STREAK AT 17 AFTER VOLLEYBALL TAKES DOWN WEBER STATE

September 20, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS BIG SKY PLAY THIS WEEK WITH TWO MATCHES

September 16, 2017
VOLLEYBALL CONCLUDES NEVADA TOURNAMENT WITH 3-2 NAIL BITING LOSS TO MISSOURI

September 15, 2017
VOLLEYBALL HAS WINNING STREAK SNAPPED IN LOSS TO PEPPERDINE

September 14, 2017
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO RENO FOR THREE MATCHES, BEGINNING THURSDAY AT NEVADA

September 14, 2017
WINNING STREAK AT 6 STRAIGHT! VOLLEYBALL DOWNS NEVADA ON THE ROAD, 3-1

September 12, 2017
FIVE WINS IN A ROW! VOLLEYBALL DOWNS SAN FRANCISCO, 3-1

September 11, 2017
KURTZ AND MURDOCK SWEEP THE BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

September 9, 2017
VOLLEYBALL WINS 3RD STRAIGHT, BEATS NORTHERN KENTUCKY, 3-1

September 9, 2017
VOLLEYBALL BEATS SEATTLE, 3-1, COMPLETES PERFECT TOURNAMENT

September 8, 2017
ANOTHER COMEBACK WIN FOR VOLLEYBALL, THIS TIME OVER BOWLING GREEN, 3-2

September 5, 2017
VOLLEYBALL STORMS BACK, KNOCKS OFF UC DAVIS ON THE ROAD, 3-2

September 2, 2017
VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO 10TH-RANKED BYU

September 1, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS BOISE TOURNAMENT WITH 3-1 LOSS TO MISSOURI

September 1, 2017
VOLLEYBALL DROPS HEARTBREAKING 3-2 ROAD DECISION AT BOISE STATE

August 31, 2017
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO BOISE FOR THREE MATCHES IN TWO DAYS

August 30, 2017
VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN HOME OPENER TO PACIFIC, 3-1

August 28, 2017
LANA BROWN NAMED BIG SKY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK


August 25, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS SEASON WITH 3-2 VICTORY OVER UCONN


August 7, 2017
VOLLEYBALL SEASON ON THE HORIZON; PRACTICES BEGIN AUG. 8

June 10, 2017
VOLLEYBALL’S FINAL DAY IN CHINA; TWO MORE BLOGS

May 19, 2017
VOLLEYBALL RELEASES ITS 2017 SCHEDULE