SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State's Shannon Boyle and Lexie Skalbeck were victorious at No. 3, but the Hornets fell to 16th-ranked Santa Clara by a 4-1 score in a sand volleyball matchup Wednesday evening at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
With the loss, the Hornets dropped their fourth straight while falling to 2-6 this season. Three of the defeats during the losing streak have come against teams currently ranked among the top 16 in the nation. In fact, of Sacramento State's six losses this season, four have come against ranked opposition while the other two losses came against teams currently receiving votes in the Dig Collegiate Sand Volleyball top 20 poll.
With the victory, Santa Clara improved its record to 6-2 as its only losses of the season came against second-ranked Hawai'i and 15th-ranked Stanford.
Boyle and Skalbeck were able to win their match at No. 3 over GiGi Cresto and Jensen Cunningham, 21-18, 21-16. The Hornets were also very close to victory at No. 1 where the duo of Kayla Beal and Sloan Lovett lost by a 21-14, 15-21, 20-18 score. In addition, Sacramento State's No. 4 team of Lauren Aikels and Hannah Meadows fell by the score of 23-21, 21-16.
Morgan Stanley and Madeline Cannon fell at No. 2 (21-13, 21-16), and Brigitte Murdock and Kennedy Kurtz lost at No. 5 (21-10, 21-16).
The Hornets are currently in the midst of an 11-game homestand to close the season. In fact, Sacramento State's season will come to an end with a three-day, seven-team tournament that runs this Friday through Sunday at the Sacramento Softball Complex. The Hornets will play twice on Friday, twice more on Saturday, and twice on Sunday. A complete tournament schedule can be found by clicking here.
Santa Clara 4, Sacramento State 1
1. Kirsten Mead/Nikki Hess (SCU) def. Kayla Beal/Sloan Lovett (SAC), 21-14, 15-21, 20-18
2. Danielle Rottman/Sabrina Clayton (SCU) def. Madeline Cannon/Morgan Stanley (SAC), 21-13, 21-16
3. Shannon Boyle/Lexie Skalbeck (SAC) def. GiGi Cresto/Jensen Cunningham (SCU), 21-18, 21-16
4. Sarah Vaccaro/Katrina Inch (SCU) def. Lauren Aikels/Hannah Meadows (SAC), 23-21, 21-16
5. Mary Shepherd/Kaity Edwards (SCU) def. Brigitte Murdock/Kennedy Kurtz (SAC), 21-10, 21-16
