FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Caty Cordano's school-record 43 digs spearheaded a Sacramento State defense that limited Northern Arizona to a .103 hitting percentage in a five-set win over the Lumberjacks on Thursday evening at Rolle Activity Center. Set scores were 25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-12.

Cordano's 43 digs surpassed the previous mark of 42, set by All-American Jill Haas in 1995. The libero was all over the place, tallying 11 digs in the first set, eight in the second, seven in the third, a ridiculous 14 more in the fourth, and three in the decisive fifth set. That's a whopping 8.6 digs per set in a match where Sacramento State needed all of them as NAU put forth a spirited comeback that nearly erased a 2-0 sets deficit.

Sacramento State, which opened Big Sky Conference play last week, is now 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2017. The Hornets improved to 7-8 overall and will travel to Greeley for a matchup with Northern Colorado on Saturday evening.

Prior to tonight, the Hornets had been 1-13 against NAU in Flagstaff dating back to 2009. Perhaps that's why it wasn't easy despite Sacramento State winning the first two sets handily. In fact, the Lumberjacks didn't have a team block until the fourth set. Things looked especially dicey when NAU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth set. But the Hornets closed on a 15-8 run, which included four kills from Caitlin Volkmann.

Sacramento State dominated in four important categories - kills (68-52), hitting percentage (.226-.103), assists (64-48) and team blocks (15.0-4.0). The Hornets got big block nights from Kalani Hayes (7), Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (6), Ashtin Olin (6) and Volkmann (5).

Outside hitter Bridgette Smith led the way with a career-high 24 kills as she had eight more than the next closest player on the floor. Volkmann posted 15 kills and five digs, Kamba-Griffin had a career-high tying nine kills and .400 hitting percentage, and Hayes had eight kills.

Olin had a season-high 59 assists and eight digs, Greta Davis eight kills and seven digs, and Ellie Tisko added four kills.

The Hornets return to action on Saturday when they play at Northern Colorado. First serve is 5 p.m. PT.