MOSCOW, Idaho -- Sacramento State hit a season-high .448, and had little trouble in sweeping Idaho on the road, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-12), on Thursday evening at Memorial Gym.
The Hornets had 51 kills and a whopping .448 hitting percentage, the third best mark in the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.) and highest percentage since 2015. Sacramento State had just eight errors in 96 attacks, and saw five of their attackers hit better than .400.
That includes senior
Bridgette Smith, who could not be stopped all evening. Despite the match lasting just three sets, the outside hitter had a season-high 21 kills and a career-high .514 hitting percentage. She had nine of the Hornets' 18 kills in the first set, and followed up with six more in both the second and third. Smith finished the match with just three errors in 35 swings.
Other Hornets to hit for high percentages included
Ellie Tisko (5 kills, .625),
Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (3 kills, .600),
Kalani Hayes (7 kills, .500) and
Greta Davis (6 kills, .417). Both Tisko and Hayes did not have an attack error. Sacramento State hit better than .430 in every set, and the team's largest deficit was 5-4 in the first set. Conversely, Idaho hit just .138 and the Hornets improved to 11-0 when holding a team below a .200 hitting percentage.
Sacramento State improved to 11-7 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets have won four straight, and are 4-0 in league for the first time since 2017. Sacramento State has gone 10-6 in league each of the last three seasons, and could be on the verge of bettering that mark in 2023.
The Hornets have defeated Idaho on seven straight occasions, and now own an 11-6 mark in the all-time series. That includes three straight wins when the teams play in Moscow.
Currently fifth in the nation in blocks, Sacramento State had nine more team stuffs despite the match lasting just three sets. That included four from
Kalani Hayes, and three each from
Caitlin Volkmann, Smith and
Ashlynn Archer.
Sacramento State had 51 kills and eight errors, to Idaho's 30 kills and 17 errors. The Hornets needed just 39 digs to complete the victory, including nine from both Davis and Smith, and eight from
Caty Cordano. Smith had three aces, and Cordano two aces.
Kate Doorn (25) and
Hailey Plugge (17) combined for 42 assists.
Karlee Soderberg had a kill and a block.
Sacramento State is back in action on Saturday for a road matchup at Eastern Washington. First serve is noon, and the match will stream on ESPN+.
