SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In an entertaining match that featured long rallies and a number of crowd-pleasing plays, the Hornets  outlasted Nevada, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20), in the first round of the 13th-annual Sacramento State Volleyball Invitational Friday evening at the Nest.

Four Hornets finished with double figures in kills, comprised of outside hitters Lauren Kissell (22) and Sloan Lovett (15), rightside hitter Shannon Boyle (12) and middle blocker Madeline Cannon (10). Sacramento State hit .287 as a team, finished with 17 more kills than Nevada (64-47), and never hit below .220 in any of the four sets.

With the victory, the Hornets won their 11th straight match while improving to 12-1 this season. The team has not lost since the opening weekend of the year (Aug. 29 vs. Cal Poly), and the winning streak is tied for the fifth longest in the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.). In addition, the 12-1 record remains tied for the best mark in school history, as only the 1981, 1990 and 1995 teams also accomplished the feat.

During the winning streak, Sacramento State is averaging 13.37 kills, 16.24 digs, 2.37 blocks and 1.90 aces per set. In addition, the Hornets have not been forced to a fifth seat in any of the 11 victories.

Two matches took place today in the first of the two-day, four-team Sacramento State Invitational. Earlier this afternoon, Santa Clara swept Kent State. Tomorrow's schedule features matches at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Hornets will take on Kent State at 12:30 p.m., and Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m. A champion will be crowned based on final record in the round-robin tournament. For complete tournament information, including schedule, box scores, ticket prices, and more, please click here.

Both teams hit well in tonight's match (SAC .287; NEV .245), but the Hornets had enough offensive punch to pull out the win. Nevada had more blocks (10.0-4.0) and aces (9-8), but had just one player finish in double-figure kills - Madison Morell (13).

With the Hornets leading the match in sets, 2-1, and the teams deadlocked at 18-18 in the fourth set, Sacramento State went on a 7-2 run to put the match away. Highlighting the 7-2 spurt was Cannon's three kills and solo block while Boyle added an ace.

Kissell hit .409 in the match and raised her season hitting percentage to .277, a very impressive mark for an outside hitter. Cannon hit a match-high .500 (10-0-20) and had three blocks, and Boyle recorded her sixth consecutive match with at least 10 digs as she finished with 12 kills and 10 digs. Setter Kennedy Kurtz had 50 assists and 10 digs, Morgan Stanley had 10 digs, and Lexie Skalbeck tallied a match-best 23 digs. Stanley, Cannon and Boyle each had two aces.

This evening marked the first of a season-long five-match homestand that includes the Hornets opening up Big Sky Conference play next week at home against both Southern Utah (Sept. 24) and Northern Arizona (Sept. 26).

NOTES -- The longest winning streak in school history is 25 straight matches, set by the 1989 squad, and the longest winning streak in the Div. I era (1991-pres.) is 16 matches, set by both the 1995 and 2005 squads…the Hornets are now 34-11 all-time against Nevada, including a 20-1 record when playing in Sacramento.

TOP FIVE WINNING STREAKS IN THE DIV. I ERA
16 - 2005, 1995
15 - 2007, 1998
11 - 2015, 2006
10 - 1996