SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Sacramento State dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents at the Big West Conference Beach Volleyball Championship on Thursday afternoon at Ocean Park.

After falling to 10th-ranked Long Beach State in the first round, 5-0, Sacramento State nearly beat 15th-ranked Hawaii in the second round, 4-1. Sacramento State lost two of those matches by two points in the third set against Hawaii.

The Hornets saw their season come to an end as the Big West Championship is a two-day, double elimination tournament. All seven teams in the Big West are competing at the event, and three are nationally ranked (sixth-ranked Cal Poly is the other).

In the loss to Hawaii, the Hornets could have just as easily won the match. After Ellie Tisko/Ashlynn Archer won their match at No. 2 by a 22-20, 21-17 score, the Hornets trailed, 2-1. That set the stage for two intense matches that went down to the wire featuring the Hornets' No. 1 duo of Caitlin Volkmann/Bridgette Smith and No. 5 Hailey Plugge/Reese Ampi. Both lost by two points in the third set.

Volkmann/Smith, after dropping the first set, came back from an 11-2 deficit to win the second by a 21-19 score. Then, in the third, the duo trailed, 14-7, before going on a 7-0 run to tie at 14-14. However, Hawaii's tandem of Alana Embry/Julia Lawrenz won the next two points.

At No. 5, Plugge/Ampi lost their match 19-21, 21-11, 15-13. The duo also made a comeback, trailing, 12-8, before finally falling, 15-13, in the third.

Against Long Beach State, the Hornets fell in straight sets in each of the five doubles matches to a Beach squad that is now 23-11 this season and is one of the favorites (along with Cal Poly) to win the Big West Tournament.

Archer/Tisko finished the season 16-10, and the 16 wins are the most in a season by any Sacramento State doubles team in program history.

Volkmann now has 48 individual wins during her career, easily the most by a Hornet in program history. Tisko is second with 41 career wins, and Smith is third with 32 wins. Smith missed all but two matches last season with injury, or she would have tallied more victories.

Each of those players, along with Plugge, were playing in their final beach matches of their Sacramento State careers.

#15 Hawai'i 4, Sacramento State 1
1. Alana Embry/Julia Lawrenz (UH) def. Caitlin Volkmann/Bridgette Smith (SAC) 21-17, 19-21, 18-16
2. Ellie Tisko/Ashlynn Archer (SAC) def. Amirah Ali/Jasmine Wandeler (UH) 22-20, 21-17
3. Sarah Burton/Caprice Lorenzo (UH) def. Karlie Spohn/Greta Davis (SAC) 21-8, 21-8
4. Sophie Buschmann/Sydney Miller (UH) def. Mia Guevara/Victoria Marthaler (SAC) 21-17, 21-15
5. Sydney Amiatu/Kristen Serrano (UH) def. Hailey Plugge/Reese Ampi (SAC) 19-21, 21-11, 15-13

#10 Long Beach State 5, Sacramento State 0
1. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) def. Caitlin Volkmann/Bridgette Smith (SAC) 21-9, 21-9
2. Haley Carrington/Julia Westby (LBSU) def. Ellie Tisko/Ashlynn Archer (SAC) 21-8, 21-17
3. Demi Wagby/Megan Widener (LBSU) def. Karlie Spohn/Greta Davis (SAC) 21-5, 21-16
4. Skyler Germann/Natalie Glenn (LBSU) def. Mia Guevara/Victoria Marthaler (SAC) 21-6, 21-13
5. Mahala Esser/Tineke Hinton (LBSU) def. Hailey Plugge/Reese Ampi (SAC) 21-12, 21-15