CHENEY, Wash. -- Sacramento State opened up Big Sky Conference play on the road in a doubleheader, taking down Eastern Washington 7-0, and outlasting Idaho 4-3 on Friday at EWU Fieldhouse.

The Hornets head into the conference season as winners of the last 13 Big Sky Championships. In 2014, Sacramento State defeated Eastern Washington, 7-0, but did not play Idaho due to not being in the conference last season.

Against Eastern Washington (1-6, 0-1), the Hornet duo of sophomores Alina Soltanici and Deimante Bulatovaite started slow losing at No. 1 doubles, but Sacramento State would turn it on and take the remaining doubles matches and every singles point.

The pair of junior Daria Savchenko and freshman Ana Loaiza Esquivias took the No. 2 doubles match against Erin Blessing and Chrissy Uriarte, winning 6-2. The Hornets were able to earn the point in No. 3 doubles when junior Olivia Boija and redshirt freshman Anna-Maria Nau won their match 6-3 to give Sacramento State the early lead.

In singles play, the Hornets were dominant; all but one match ended in straight sets. Soltanici rebounded from her doubles loss to win at No. 1 singles 6-4, 6-3 over the Eagles' Janaya Smith.

Sacramento State's Nau, Bulatovaite and Boija also played well, winning in straight sets in each of their matches. In No. 5 singles, the Hornets' Savchenko was pushed to the brink against Eastern Washington's Katrina Domingo, but was able to pull through, winning the match 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 to finish off the shutout.

In the night cap against Idaho (3-2, 1-1), the Hornets had to fight hard to take down the Vandals. After losing the doubles point and the first two singles points, Sacramento State pulled through by winning the final four singles matches of the day to secure the victory.

Bulatovaite was tested against Idaho's Lucia Badillos at No. 3 singles, as she dropped the opening set and found herself one set away from losing the team match. But Bulatovaite rallied in the following two sets to win 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 to grab the first point for the Hornets.

It was smooth sailing for Sacramento State from there as Boija and Loaiza Esquivias continued the winning streak by winning in straight sets.

Tied at three points apiece, the deciding match came down to the Hornets' junior Jennifer Ong against the Vandals' Emmie Marx at No. 6 singles. Ong was able to take the victory in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (0), to win the match for Sacramento State.

In doubles play, the Hornets were able to strike first as the duo of Boija and Ong beat Idaho's Emmie Marx and Galina Bykova at No. 1 doubles. The pairs of Soltanici and Bulatovaite, and Savchenko and Loaiza Esquivias, did not fare as well, falling in their matches to relinquish the opening lead to Idaho.

Sacramento State (3-4, 2-0) begins Big Sky Conference play 2-0 and will next take on Washington in a non-conference match on Feb. 21 at 11 a.m.