MALIBU, Calif. -- After dropping the first set, Villanova ripped off three straight victorious frames to beat Sacramento State, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-16), on Saturday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The match was the second of the season for the Hornets, and the two teams were playing in the second round of the Asics Classic, hosted by Pepperdine. Sacramento State opened the tournament yesterday with a 3-2 loss to South Dakota State.
For the second straight day, the Hornets were playing a team that finished among the top 40 in the nation a year ago. South Dakota State was 36th in the nation last season, and Villanova was ranked 39th. It won't get any easier tomorrow as the Hornets will play a Pepperdine squad that finished 44th in the country.
After a
Victoria Marthaler kill on set point gave the Hornets a 25-23 win in the first set, the Hornets held a 19-17 advantage in the second frame. What looked like it could be a 2-0 Sacramento State lead quickly flipped when the Wildcats finished the frame on an 8-4 run. Five of those points came at the service line as Villanova had three aces and the Hornets had two service errors during the Villanova spurt.
Hornet sophomore
Charlee Lepp set or tied career highs in kills (9), digs (11), blocks (3), aces (1) and points (11.5). Fellow outside hitter
Victoria Marthaler had a match-high tying 14 kills to go with six digs.Â
Six Hornets had at least four kills, including freshmen
Nikola Gamlin (8),
Mia Molnar (7) and
Addy Scheitlin (4), and junior
Skyler Gartin (4). The Hornets finished with 10.0 team blocks, including five each from Gamlin and Gartin, and four from Molnar.
For the second straight day, setter
Makenna Wiepert posted a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs. The Hornets ran a 6-2 offense and setter
Kaylee Piepho finished with a career-high tying 18 assists. Libero
Reese Ampi added 11 digs. Sacramento State had seven aces, including two from Marthaler and Wiepert.
NOTES
•
Keonahi'ilani Solaita, the reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year, did not play because of injury. The outside hitter was limited to just the back row yesterday
• For the second straight day, the Hornets started a pair of freshmen (Molnar, Gamlin), and three Canadians (Molnar, Gamlin and Lepp)
• The Hornets finished the match with 46 kills, 45 assists, seven aces, 44 digs, 10.0 team blocks and a .163 hitting percentage.
