SACRAMENTO -- Cal Poly had 42 kills and a .405 hitting percentage on the way to a three-set sweep (25-12, 25-15, 25-16) of Sacramento State on Thursday evening at the Nest.
The Hornets had won six straight at home dating back to last season, including a 5-0 mark this year. It was also the first conference loss for Sacramento State, falling to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big West.
Cal Poly is the defending Big West Tournament champion and reached the Sweet 16 of last season's NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs were selected first in this year's Big West preseason poll, and remain undefeated in league play (7-6, 3-0). Of Cal Poly's six losses overall, four have come against nationally ranked opposition.
Sacramento State has not defeated Cal Poly at home since 1995. Today marked the third leg of a season-long four match homestand that includes Saturday night vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Cal Poly's .405 hitting percentage was the highest allowed by Sacramento State this season. Conversely, the Hornets' .051 hitting percentage was their lowest mark of the year. Sacramento State's largest lead of the evening was 4-2 in the third set.
Victoria Marthaler had a team-high seven kills, and saw her streak of 32 straight matches with double-figure kills come to a close.
Keonahi'ilani Solaita had five kills, and both
Skyler Gartin and
Mia Molnar had four kills.
Nikola Gamlin led the team with four blocks, and setter
Makenna Wiepert posted 16 assists and six digs.
Reese Ampi added six digs.
Marthaler, Solaita and
Kaylee Piepho each had four digs.
The Hornets are back at home Saturday night vs. UC Santa Barbara. Match time is 7 p.m. After Saturday, the Hornets have just five home matches left in the season.
NOTES -- Ampi needs just 16 digs to reach the 1,000 career dig milestone. In her third season at Sacramento State, Ampi would become the 30th player in school history to accomplish the feat.
