SACRAMENTO -- Long Beach State hit .316 with 14 team blocks, and defeated Sacramento State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 27-25) on Saturday afternoon at the Nest.
The Hornets had a pair of set points in the third at 24-23 and 25-24, but could not force a fourth set. The Beach had 40 kills and just 10 errors in 95 swings, and the .316 percentage was the fifth highest of the season allowed by Sacramento State.
The Hornets had 23 more swings, but their 41 kills came with 24 errors. The Hornets hit below .200 in all three sets, and were stymied by a Long Beach State defense that had four different players register at least five blocks.
Sacramento State saw its three-match winning streak come to an end, while falling to 10-9 overall and 5-3 in the Big West. Long Beach State improved to 14-4 and 6-2 with the win.
The two teams were playing each other for the first time since 2006 when the Hornets swept then 25th-ranked Long Beach State in the Nest. The Hornets are now 1-3 all-time against the Beach.
Today marked the second leg of a three-match homestand that will see the Hornets host Utah Valley on Thursday night. That match will mark the halfway point of the conference season.
The Hornets were led by middle blocker
Skyler Gartin who had eight kills, a .667 hitting percentage, four digs and four blocks. Gartin, who has now hit above .400 in five straight and six of the last seven matches, is hitting a robust .486 in Big West play. She was the only Hornet in today's match to hit higher than .200.
Victoria Marthaler had a match-high 16 kills, and
Nikola Gamlin five kills.
Reese Ampi posted a team-best 10 digs, and
Amy Ito led all players with three aces.
Mia Molnar had a pair of kills and three blocks,
Keonahi'ilani Solaita four kills and six digs, and setter
Makenna Wiepert added 31 assists and eight digs. Wiepert is now eight assists shy of 1,500 for her career.
Sacramento State is back in action on Thursday vs. Utah Valley at 7 p.m. The two teams will play twice in three days as the Hornets travel to Orem, Utah, to face the Wolverines on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT. Next week's trip to Orem will be just the second and final time the Hornets will leave the state of California this season.
