SACRAMENTO -- UC Davis had 14 aces, and, despite a healthy advantage in kills for Sacramento State, the Hornets fell to the Aggies, 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 15-25, 25-21), on Tuesday night at the Nest.
The 14 aces were a season high for UC Davis, and were also the most allowed by the Hornets this year. Sacramento State did have advantages in kills (49-43) and digs (66-61), but it was not enough to overcome a large disparity at the service line where the Aggies held a 14-6 advantage in aces.
Tonight marked the 80th meeting between the teams in a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s. The Hornets dropped to 54-26 all-time against their Causeway rivals, including a 23-11 mark at home.
Sacramento State is now 6-5 overall, and 5-3 at home. Tonight concluded the home portion of the non-league schedule as Sacramento State opens Big Sky Conference play next week.
The win improved the Aggies - who were playing their 10th straight match away from home - to 5-5.
Two bright spots for the Hornets was the play of their middle hitters.
Kalani Hayes posted a team-high 11 kills to go along with a .348 hitting percentage. It was her fourth straight match with double figures in kills, a new career high.
Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin finished with eight kills, and match highs in both hitting percentage (.438) and blocks (6).
Bridgette Smith and
Caitlin Volkmann both had nine kills and four digs,
Greta Davis and
Caty Cordano led the team with 15 digs, and both setters had double-doubles -
Hailey Plugge (23 ast, 11 digs) and
Kate Doorn (19 ast, 10 digs).
Ellie Tisko added seven kills and five digs. Doorn and Plugge both had a pair of aces.
Smith is now just 17 kills shy of reaching the 1,000 kill milestone. She is attempting to become the 25th player in the Hornets' Div. I era (1991-pres.) to accomplish the feat.
The Hornets will play their final three non-conference matches later this week when they travel to Stockton for the Central Cal Challenge. Sacramento State will play three straight days, including Thursday vs. CSU Bakersfield, Friday vs. Fresno State, and Saturday vs. tourney host Pacific. All three matches will begin at 3 p.m. Only the match vs. Pacific will be video streamed.
