CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Sacramento State trailed, 2-1, but won the final two sets, including an 11-0 run to open the fifth, on the way to a 3-2 victory (21-25, 25-11, 19-25, 25-21, 15-6) over UC Riverside on Friday afternoon at America First Event Center.

The Hornets (1-3) are playing twice today on Southern Utah's home floor, including a matchup at 5 p.m. PT against the host Thunderbirds.

The fifth set was drama-free as Hornet libero Reese Ampi opened the frame by serving 11 straight points, one of which was an ace. By the time UC Riverside (2-3) scored its first point, the Hornets already had the set, and match, well in hand. In fact, during that fifth set, the Hornets hit .476 (13-3-21) and six different players had at least one kill. That included Ashlynn Archer and Victoria Marthaler who both had four.

A true freshman stepped forward in the fourth set. In a back and forth fourth in which neither team led by more than five points, rightside hitter Charlee Lepp finished with four kills in seven swings. With the Hornets up, 23-21, it was Lepp who closed the frame with back-to-back kills. She also had a block late in the set.

Sacramento State limited the Highlanders to a .076 hitting percentage, and the Hornets finished with more kills (48-40), assists (41-33), aces (12-9), digs (53-50) and blocks (10-5). Riverside hit .161 or less in all five sets, including a .067 mark in the fifth. Four Hornets had multiple aces, comprised of Amy Ito (3), Ampi (2), Marthaler (2) and Keonahi'ilani Solaita (2).

Senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer continued her hot start, finishing with a career-best 16 kills to go with six blocks and a .353 hitting percentage. Marthaler posted double-figure kills for the third time in four matches, finishing with 11. 

Lepp finished with six kills and a .417 hitting percentage, Kelsey Heffner four kills, two blocks and a .375 hitting percentage and Solaita three kills, three digs, two assists and two aces. All three of those players are true freshmen. 

Ampi has tallied double-digit digs in every match thus far, finishing with a team-high 14. Setter Kate Doorn had two kills, 32 assists, 13 digs and a career-best six blocks. Greta Davis had four kills, and Mia Guevara finished with nine digs.

The Hornets have now played back-to-back five setters, including a 3-2 loss to Pepperdine on Sunday. On Tuesday, Pepperdine beat 19th-ranked UCLA in four sets.