SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Seniors Sloan Lovett (match-high 18) and Lauren Kissell (13), and sophomore Shannon Boyle (9) combined for 40 kills to lead the Hornets to a three-set sweep of Rutgers (29-27, 25-19, 25-22) in the first round of the SCU/SJSU Volleyball Invite Friday afternoon at the Leavey Center.

The match marked the season opener for both teams, and the Hornets were able to beat the Scarlet Knights in just one hour and 35 minutes. Sacramento State will play two more matches tomorrow, this time in San Jose, against Cal Poly (3 p.m.) and host San Jose State (7 p.m.).

The Hornets were able to save three set points in a first frame that included 14 ties and seven lead changes. In fact, trailing, 27-26, Sacramento State got a kill from Madeline Cannon, a Cannon ace and a Lovett kill, respectively, to win the set. That seemed to propel the Hornets, as Rutgers had just two leads the remainder of the match. Leading in the third set, 23-22, a Lovett kill and a solo block from Courtney Dietrich on match point put the Hornets in the win column.

Sacramento State hit well (.252 hitting percentage), served well (7 aces) and played good defense (53 digs, 17.7 per set), usually a good recipe for victory. The Hornets had 50 kills with just 18 errors in 127 total attacks.

"Several people played well, and the team really worked hard all night and had a lot of energy," Sacramento State head coach Ruben Volta said. "We scrapped and fought hard on defense, and came up with some big plays in key moments. We have some things to work on, but I was happy with our effort today."

Leading the defense was libero Lexie Skalbeck, who had a match-high 16 digs. Boyle added 11 digs to go along with her nine kills and Morgan Stanley rounded out the Hornet threesome in double figures with 11 digs.

Lovett's 18 kills came with a .310 hitting percentage, Boyle hit a team-high .333, Kissell hit .233 to go along with her 13 kills, and setter Kennedy Kurtz had a match-high 40 assists. Cannon added five kills and two blocks, and Julia Wright tallied six digs.

Rutgers hit .211, but was limited to just 38 kills (12 less than the Hornets). The Scarlet Knights had just one player with more than six kills, Meme Fletcher, who finished with 13.