MOSCOW, Idaho -- Sacramento State hit .303 while limiting Idaho to an .057 percentage on the way to a three-set sweep (25-16, 25-16, 25-19) of the Vandals on Friday evening at Memorial Gym.
Tonight was the regular season finale, and Sacramento State moved its record to 19-9 overall and 12-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets will assume the No. 2 seed at next week's Big Sky Tournament in Greeley, Colo., and play Monday in the quarterfinal round vs. No. 7 Portland State at a time TBD.
Northern Arizona (13-3) won at Northern Colorado, 3-1, won the Big Sky regular season title outright, and will be the No. 1 seed at next week's tournament. Had NAU lost, the Hornets would have won a share of the Big Sky regular season crown.
Semifinal matches at the tournament will take place on Tuesday, and the championship is Wednesday. The winner of Wednesday's match will gain an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Dec. 4. Sacramento State defeated Northern Colorado, 3-2, in last year's Big Sky Tourney championship match at the Nest.
The Hornets' 12 conference wins are the team's second most in eight years, trailing only the 2023 squad's 13-3 mark.
Sacramento State had little trouble with Idaho, limiting the Vandals to .167 hitting percentage or lower in every set. The Hornets had more kills (40-29), digs (52-41) and blocks (7.0-2.0).
Victoria Marthaler led all players with 13 kills while also adding eight digs.
Skyler Gartin had seven kills and a .778 hitting percentage,
Keonahi'ilani Solaita posted seven kills and a .438 hitting percentage, and
Ashlynn Archer four kills, seven blocks, three aces and a .438 hitting percentage.
Setter
Kate Doorn notched 24 assists, three kills and 12 digs, and
Reese Ampi led all players with 14 digs. Seven different Hornets had kills, including
Greta Davis' four kills and .400 hitting percentage. Fourteen different Sacramento State players appeared in tonight's match.
NOTABLES
• Doorn is two assists shy of 3,000 in her collegiate career
• Marthaler now has 509 kills this year, and becomes the 11th player in school history to register 500 kills in a season.
• Archer's season hitting percentage is now .436. The Sacramento State single-season record is .383, and the Big Sky Conference season record is .404.
