SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State hit .333 and locked up its 10th Big Sky Conference win after defeating Idaho, 3-1 (25-16, 24-26, 25-14, 25-12), on Saturday evening in front of a large crowd at the Nest.
The victory was the third straight (and four of the last five) for Sacramento State which improved to 14-13 overall and 10-5 in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets have now won at least 10 conference games each of the last three years, and appear to be playing excellent volleyball at a good time with the Big Sky Tournament beginning in less than two weeks.
Northern Colorado beat Weber State tonight, which means the Hornets are mathematically eliminated from clinching the No. 1 seed despite being just 1.5 games back of first place. Sacramento State will conclude the regular season next Friday at home vs. Portland State (also 10-5), as the Hornets jockey for the highest seed possible to the eight-team postseason event in Ogden, Utah. The quarterfinals for the tournament are the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, followed by semis on Friday and championship match on Saturday.
The Hornets are now 6-1 against Big Sky teams at home this season, and have won 13 of their last 14 dating back to last year. In addition, Sacramento State swept the season series from Idaho while improving to 10-6 all-time against the Vandals (5-2 at home).
Sacramento State dominated throughout the match despite stumbling briefly in the second set. The Hornets had big advantages over the Vandals in kills (54-39), hitting percentage (.333-.150), assists (50-36), and team blocks (14.0-9.0). Sacramento State also had 11 aces, including a career-high tying six from
Bridgette Smith. It was Smith who had aces on three straight points in the third set.
Smith finished with a team-high 16 kills to go along with a .342 hitting percentage, eight digs, six aces and three blocks. The middle blocker duo of
Kalani Hayes and
Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin had a big night. Kamba-Griffin posted a career-high 10 kills to go with nine blocks (one shy of a career best) and a .533 hitting percentage. Hayes continued her torrid play at home with nine kills, five blocks and a .571 hitting percentage. The two middles combined for 19 kills with three errors in 29 swings (.552 hitting percentage).
Outside hitter
Caitlin Volkmann also had a big evening with 10 kills, nine digs, four blocks and a .562 hitting percentage. She had just one error in 16 swings. Setter
Ashtin Olin had four kills, 45 assists, five digs and three blocks, and libero
Caty Cordano led the team with 15 digs while tacking on a pair of aces.
Ellie Tisko had three kills and a block, and
Greta Davis finished with two kills and five digs.
Sacramento State's regular season finale will come on Friday at home against Portland State. First serve is 7 p.m., and Olin will be honored for her contributions to the program prior to the start of that match.
