OGDEN, Utah -- In a match that lasted two hours, 18 minutes, and featured 40 ties and 23 lead changes, the Sacramento State volleyball team held on for a 3-2 victory (24-26, 25-17, 29-27, 14-25, 15-12) over Weber State in a Big Sky Conference matchup Friday evening at Swenson Gym.
The win was a big one as it allowed the Hornets to improve to 9-9 overall and inch above the .500 mark in conference play at 4-3. Sacramento State, which won for just the second time this season on an opponent's home floor, now sits in a two-way tie for fifth place in the 11-team Big Sky standings with 13 matches remaining. At the end of the regular season, the top six teams in the conference qualify for the league's postseason tournament.
Overall, the Hornets have now won four of their last five matches. Sacramento State has a seven-match winning streak against Weber State dating back to 2010, and owns a 30-8 advantage in the all-time series over the Wildcats. The loss dropped Weber State to 5-17 overall and 1-7 in the Big Sky this season.
The fifth set alone featured eight ties and three lead changes as Sacramento State took a 6-2 lead only to see Weber State bounce back to lead, 10-8. However, the Hornets closed the frame on a 7-2 run, which included a pair of kills from Kayla Beal and Sloan Lovett, a solo stuff from setter Hannah Hettinga and an ace from Lovett at 13-12. Beal, who closed things on match point with a kill, was unbelievable in the fifth as she finished the frame with five kills without an error in eight attacks, good for a .625 hitting percentage.
"In order to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament, we need to win some matches on the road," Sacramento State head coach Ruben Volta said. "We've struggled at times on the road this year, so this was a big win. Swenson Gym is a challenging environment to play, and Weber State played well and with a lot of energy. But we hung in there, played strong defense, refused to get rattled and our team was up for the challenge."
The third set, which Sacramento State won, 29-27, featured 16 ties and 11 lead changes. The Hornets saved a set point at 26-25 before a Hettinga kill at 28-27 gave the Hornets a 2-1 lead in sets. In the first set, Weber State saved a set point at 24-23 before running off three straight points to take the frame.
In a match that was nearly even statistically, the Hornets limited Weber State to a .154 hitting percentage and found a way to win despite 12 Wildcat service aces. Sacramento State hit just .198, and tonight marked the first time all year the team has been victorious when hitting below the .200 mark.
Beal's 19 kills were two more than any other player on the floor as she also finished with a .286 hitting percentage, eight digs and a solo block. Lovett added 17 kills, two aces and eight digs, while freshman middle blocker Courtney Dietrich had nine kills and a team-high .438 hitting percentage. Hettinga had 46 assists, 10 digs and four blocks, and middle blocker Chelcy Motes had a match-high tying seven blocks. Four of those blocks were solo stuffs, including one in the fifth set to tied the score at 7-7.
Libero Katie Aprile had a match-high tying 21 digs, and Morgan Stanley added six kills and seven digs. The Hornets finished with just four aces, including a pair from Lovett.
For Weber State, three players finished with double figures in kills, comprised of Rebecca Fuchs (16), Audrey Biggs (13) and Megan Bean (11). Only three Wildcats finished with a hitting percentage above .128.
The Hornets return to action tomorrow for a match at Idaho State (6 p.m. PDT) before beginning a four-match homestand next week.

April 8, 2014
VOLLEYBALL RELEASES ITS 2014 SCHEDULE

January 27, 2014
SACRAMENTO STATE EARNS 22 FALL BIG SKY ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS

January 24, 2014
VOLLEYBALL ADDS DIV. I TRANSFER AND LOCAL PRODUCT MADELINE CANNON

November 30, 2013
VOLLEYBALL'S HOME WINNING STREAK NAMED BIG SKY'S 16TH GREATEST MOMENT

November 28, 2013
VOLLEYBALL’S BEAL NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG SKY

November 23, 2013
VOLLEYBALL LOSES IN FIVE, ELIMINATED FROM BIG SKY TOURNAMENT CONTENTION

November 21, 2013
VOLLEYBALL ONE STEP CLOSER TO PLAYOFF SPOT AFTER WIN AT MONTANA STATE

November 20, 2013
VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO GRAB PLAYOFF SPOT IN FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON

November 18, 2013
VOLLEYBALL SIGNS BOYLE, BROWN AND KURTZ TO LETTERS OF INTENT

November 16, 2013
VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP HUGE WIN, CRUSHES WEBER STATE

November 15, 2013
VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO IDAHO STATE, WILL PLAY HOME FINALE TOMORROW

November 14, 2013
FORMER HORNET LINDSAY HAUPT NAMED THE BIG SKY'S 19TH BEST FEMALE ATHLETE

November 14, 2013
FINAL HOMESTAND FOR VOLLEYBALL WITH POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS ON TAP

November 11, 2013
VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT NORTHERN COLORADO, STILL CLINGS TO A PLAYOFF SPOT

November 9, 2013
VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN THREE AT NORTH DAKOTA

October 31, 2013
WINNING STREAK AT FOUR AS VOLLEYBALL BEATS SOUTHERN UTAH

October 30, 2013
VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO INCREASE WINNING STREAK THIS WEEK ON THE ROAD

October 26, 2013
HOME COURT KIND AGAIN AS VOLLEYBALL BEATS EASTERN WASHINGTON

October 25, 2013
VOLLEYBALL SECURES HUGE HOME VICTORY OVER PORTLAND STATE

October 23, 2013
VOLLEYBALL HOSTS A PAIR OF LEAGUE MATCHES THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

October 19, 2013
VOLLEYBALL HITS SEASON-HIGH .398 IN FOUR-SET WIN OVER MONTANA STATE

October 18, 2013
VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT HOME TO MONTANA

October 12, 2013
VOLLEYBALL NOW 4-4 IN CONFERENCE PLAY AFTER LOSS AT IDAHO STATE

October 11, 2013
VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP FIVE-SET ROAD WIN AT WEBER STATE

October 9, 2013
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO MATCHUPS AT WEBER STATE AND IDAHO STATE

October 3, 2013
VOLLEYBALL WINS FIVE-SET NAIL BITER OVER NORTHERN COLORADO

October 2, 2013
VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK THIS WEEK AT HOME

September 28, 2013
VOLLEYBALL DOMINATES SOUTHERN UTAH IN THREE QUICK SETS

September 27, 2013
VOLLEYBALL HITS FOR HIGH PERCENTAGE, DEFEATS NORTHERN ARIZONA

September 26, 2013
VOLLEYBALL BEGINS HOMESTAND WITH MATCHES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT

September 21, 2013
VOLLEYBALL DROPS BIG SKY MATCHUP AT PORTLAND STATE

September 19, 2013
VOLLEYBALL LOSES FIVE-SET HEARTBREAKER TO EWU IN BIG SKY OPENER

September 18, 2013
VOLLEYBALL OPENS BIG SKY PLAY THURSDAY AT EASTERN WASHINGTON

September 14, 2013
VOLLEYBALL CONCLUDES TOURNAMENT WITH LOSS TO BOISE STATE

September 13, 2013
LOVETT’S 14 KILLS NOT ENOUGH IN VOLLEYBALL’S LOSS TO IDAHO

September 13, 2013
VOLLEYBALL OPENS TOURNAMENT WITH LOSS TO NORTH TEXAS

September 10, 2013
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO UC DAVIS TONIGHT, BOISE STATE LATER THIS WEEK

September 10, 2013
VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT UC DAVIS

September 6, 2013
VOLLEYBALL STUMBLES AT HOME AGAINST SAN JOSE STATE

September 4, 2013
VOLLEYBALL HOSTS 11TH-ANNUAL SACRAMENTO STATE INVITATIONAL

September 2, 2013
LOVETT CAPS BIG WEEK WITH BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

September 1, 2013
LOVETT WITH A HUGE DAY, VOLLEYBALL NOW 3-0 AFTER WIN OVER LA SALLE


August 28, 2013
VOLLEYBALL BEGINS 2013 SEASON ON SATURDAY IN PHILADELPHIA

August 23, 2013
VOLLEYBALL HOSTS ALUMNI MATCH THIS SATURDAY

August 22, 2013
2013 VOLLEYBALL SEASON OUTLOOK