MOSCOW, Idaho -- After a convincing win in the first set, and what appeared to be an insurmountable 24-16 lead in the second set, Sacramento State squandered eight straight set points and eventually the match to Idaho, 3-2, on Saturday evening at Memorial Gym. Set scores were 14-25, 26-24, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9.

Idaho (6-12, 3-3) would close the second set on a 10-0 run to win, 26-24, and carried that momentum the rest of the way. In the fifth set, after the Hornets took a 1-0 lead, the Vandals responded with a 7-0 run and were never threatened the rest of the way.

Sacramento State dropped to 16-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big Sky. The Hornets appeared to be riding high after winning a pair of home matches to open the conference season and had a 15-2 record at the time. However, Sacramento State went 1-3 on its just completed road trip, which included losses to Idaho State and Eastern Washington and a victory over Weber State.

The Vandals improved to 4-3 at home this season, and 3-2 all-time against Sacramento State. The Hornets have not defeated Idaho since a three-set sweep on Sept. 9, 1995.

Sacramento State easily won the first set, 25-14, had won 49 of the first 79 points of the match, and appeared to be in cruise control after a Kennedy Kurtz ace put the Hornets up, 24-16, in the second. Then Idaho ran off 10 straight points. Of those 10 points, five came on blocks, including combo stuffs by Tineke Bierma and Laine Waters at 24-24, and 25-24.

Idaho then won the third set, 25-20, to take a 2-1 lead. Sacramento State showed some resilience after saving match points at 24-25 and 25-26 of the fourth set to eventually win, 29-27. However, it was another massive Idaho run in the fifth set that put the match away. After a kill from Sloan Lovett gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead, the Vandals scored seven straight points, which included three unforced Sacramento State attack errors. The Hornets would get no closer than within four points of the Vandal lead the rest of the way.

The Hornets had more kills (71-69), digs (72-67) and aces (9-4), but Idaho had the higher hitting percentage (.321-.263) and more team blocks (10.0-6.0). Many of those 10 Vandal blocks came at crucial times during the match.

Hornet senior outside hitter Lauren Kissell had a big match, finishing with 23 kills and a .447 hitting percentage (23-2-47) while middle blocker Madeline Cannon had 11 kills and a .526 hitting percentage. Fellow middle blocker Courtney Dietrich had nine kills, three blocks and a .316 hitting percentage.

Sloan Lovett finished with 16 kills, five digs and three blocks, Morgan Stanley had nine kills, 13 digs and three aces, and Kurtz posted a career-high 63 assists go along with three kills, three aces and nine digs. Libero Lexie Skalbeck added 20 digs, and Brigitte Murdock had eight digs.

Four Idaho players had double figures in kills, comprised of Katelyn Peterson (18 kills, .356 hit%), Bierma (15 kills, nine blocks), Sarah Sharp (15 kills, .560 hit%) and Kaela Straw (11 kills). The Vandals' .321 hitting percentage was easily the highest hitting percentage allowed by Sacramento State all season.

The Hornets hope to enjoy some home cooking as the team begins a four-match homestand next week with contests on Thursday at Northern Colorado and Saturday at Portland State. Both contests will begin at 7 p.m. The Hornets conclude the homestand the following week against Montana State (Oct. 22) and Montana (Oct. 24).